Two Tourists Brutally Murdered on Koh Tao, One Raped: Police Spark Thailand Manhunt

**roger77** · 27-10-2015, 04:44 PM

Thai justice sustem, ............[/QUOTE]

Spelling mistake ?? or a really good one ??

**Bower** · 27-10-2015, 05:09 PM

Originally Posted by roger77

Thai justice sustem, ............

Spelling mistake ?? or a really good one ??[/QUOTE]

I have to own up, spelling mistake.....

**harrybarracuda** · 27-10-2015, 06:27 PM

Originally Posted by Bower

Originally Posted by roger77

Thai justice sustem, ............

Spelling mistake ?? or a really good one ??

I have to own up, spelling mistake.....[/QUOTE]

You knead to got yourself a descent spill chucker.

**baconandeggs** · 27-10-2015, 07:07 PM

Those 3 islands are run by a few families. Wont stop dopey backpackers thinking it is cool to learn diving therem

**terry57** · 27-10-2015, 08:35 PM

The fact is, the diving industry is an unstoppable force on Tao, It's not just Backpackers these days but people of Various ages.

Even if Ten people had been offed that night the Island would just roll right along exactly as it is now.

Way it should be as well.

**Chittychangchang** · 27-10-2015, 11:57 PM

Thailand murders: Defence closes trial with 'unreliable' evidence claim - BBC News

**Hans Mann** · 23-12-2015, 06:25 AM

The parents of murdered backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller may finally get justice when the verdict in the case of their suspected killers is delivered on Christmas Eve.

The battered bodies of the two young travellers were found in September 2014 on a Koh Tao beach in the Gulf of Thailand that is popular with divers.

The brutality of the murders dented Thailand's image as a happy-go-lucky holiday paradise and raised serious questions about its treatment of migrant workers.

Police said Witheridge, 23, was found bludgeoned to death and had been raped. Miller, 24, also suffered blows to his head before being drowned in the sea.

A court on the island of Koh Samui is due to give its verdict on Thursday, court officials said.

Heartbroken: The families of the victims have been waiting more than a year for justice
Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, migrant workers from neighbouring Burma who were working on the island, were arrested after weeks of pressure on authorities to solve the crime.

Both defendants, aged 22, initially confessed to the killings but later retracted these statements, saying they had been tortured . Police have denied using force during their interrogation.

They face the death penalty if found guilty.

Prosecutors say the DNA evidence, collected from cigarette butts, a condom and the bodies of the victims, links the two men to the killings.

But the trial recently heard that a garden hoe alleged to have been used in the killings carried the DNA of two men but there was no trace of either defendant.

Migrant workers often face discrimination in Thailand and have been used as scapegoats for crimes in the past.

Allegations by defence lawyers of police incompetence and evidence of mishandling have dominated the trial, which began in July and ended in October after 21 days of witness hearings.

Thai police were widely accused of bungling the investigation, including failing to close off the island quickly and allowing potential suspects to escape.

A debate over DNA samples that police say link the two suspects to Witheridge's body has been at the heart of the trial.

Defence lawyers had asked to retest crucial DNA samples taken from the victims' bodies but authorities issued conflicting statements on DNA evidence and, at one point, said that it had been used up.

No independent re-testing of DNA evidence has been done in the case.

Thailand backpacker murders: Verdict due on Christmas Eve over deaths of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller - Mirror Online

**bobo746** · 23-12-2015, 06:53 AM

The song remains the same.

**Chittychangchang** · 23-12-2015, 06:55 AM

Even though the Thai authorities have seen fit to release the verdict on Christmas eve in the hope of it all being forgotten, with no consideration ever given to the family's of the murdered.

The international media are still on the case..

Thailand is on trial also..

Thai court to give verdict in British backpackers murder trial | Reuters

Ruling on murder of 2 British tourists on Koh Tao island imminent, AsiaOne Asia News

Myanmar pair face verdict over British murders on Thai paradise island | Daily Mail Online

Ruling in Koh Tao murders case Thursday | Bangkok Post: news

Court to pass down backpackers murder verdict -Cyprus

**Luigi** · 23-12-2015, 09:15 AM

"No independent re-testing of DNA evidence has been done in the case."

Well, that's definitely that then.

The panel of judges have their way to not find them not guilty.

Prayuth already publicly declared that he reviewed the evidence and that they are guilty as charged.

The judges aren't going to end their careers finding them not guilty.

**Seekingasylum** · 23-12-2015, 10:20 AM

Originally Posted by Hans Mann

The parents of murdered backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller may finally get justice when the verdict in the case of their suspected killers is delivered on Christmas Eve.

Verdict due on Christmas Eve over deaths of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller - Mirror Online[/url]

The West's perception that a trial is the arbiter of justice in any society is a powerful one and it is scarcely surprising in their ignorance they think it applies elsewhere in the world.
The conduct of the British Foreign Office and the Metropolitan Police ensured that this illusion was maintained in this case and effectively sealed the Burmese boys' fate.

The families have been duped and there it is.

**PeeCoffee** · 24-12-2015, 10:24 AM

Koh Tao ranked # 5 by Trip Advisor in "Top 10 Best Islands" ranking.

The PC correct will boogie the night away at Koh Tao Castle with their conscience intact.
"Nice tan , bro." "Pass the ganja dude."

"Bring happiness to the people" just isn't for Thais only. What a friggin' joke, sadly.

**Fondles** · 24-12-2015, 10:45 AM

The boys are gunna swing. No surprises there.

**NZdick1983** · 24-12-2015, 11:09 AM

I haven't posted on this thread for ages... it depresses me to be honest...

only God knows (if there is a God, kinda dubious)... if those lads did the deed, or not... just have a strange feeling with this case.. I'm not saying emphatically they didn't do it... they could well have done..

Just smells funny to me.. and it's not my roast lamb..

Merry Xmas, Peecoffee and Fondles.. and Luigi, even SA..

**harrybarracuda** · 24-12-2015, 11:10 AM

David MIller's brother just sealed their fate.

Has "complete and utter faith in the Thai justice system".

**Davis Knowlton** · 24-12-2015, 11:12 AM

Sad. There was never going to be any other outcome, but sad.

**Bettyboo** · 24-12-2015, 11:13 AM

What has been evident is the total contempt for the truth the British government has shown; complicit even.

With the Thais, that's a give me, obviously. I hope the two Thais that did this get topped soon, and graphically...

**rickschoppers** · 24-12-2015, 11:32 AM

Koh Tao case: Migrant workers sentenced to death for murders of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller - Telegraph

By Our Foreign Staff3:48AM GMT 24 Dec 2015
Two Burmese migrant workers have been found guilty of murdering a pair of British backpackers on a Thai island in a case that tarnished the kingdom's tourist industry and raised questions over its justice system.
Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun were sentenced to death after being convicted of killing David Miller, 24, and the rape and murder of Hannah Witheridge, 23, on the picture-postcard resort island of Koh Tao in southern Thailand.
They were also sentenced to 20 years for raping Ms Witheridge.
The two men had denied killing the British pair, whose battered bodies were found on a beach on September 15, 2014.
Defence lawyers accused the police of bungling their investigation and using the Myanmar migrants - both aged 22 - as scapegoats.
Rights groups said the case reflected a wider trend of low-paid migrant workers from neighbouring countries, including Myanmar, being blamed for crimes in Thailand where the justice system is easily bent by wealth and power.
One of the suspects named as Win during a re-enactment of the alleged murder of David Miller and Hannah Witheridge
Win, one of the suspects during the re-enactment of the alleged murder of David Miller and Hannah Witheridge Photo: REUTERS
The men were arrested on October 2 after a high-profile police probe, which saw authorities come under intense pressure to solve a case that shocked the Thai public.
Prosecutors said the evidence against the men was rock solid, including DNA traces found on Ms Witheridge's body as well as the suspects being in possession of Mr Miller's phone and sunglasses.
A panel of three judges delivered their verdict on the neighbouring island of Koh Samui.
Mr Miller was struck by a single blow and left to drown in shallow surf while Ms Witheridge had been raped and then bludgeoned to death with a garden hoe.
The defence disputed the forensic evidence as flawed and accused the police of torturing their clients into signing confessions, which they later retracted.
Their lawyers pointed to the fact the DNA found on the hoe did not match either of the suspects and say forensic gathering techniques were riddled with errors.
An advisor to the defence team who visited the accused on Wednesday said the pair were "tense" and "nervous".
"But they're both confident that they will be acquitted by the court... they said that whatever the result, they will stay strong and they will move forward into the future," Andy Hall of the Migrant Worker Rights Network told AFP.
The police investigation had been dogged by accusations of incompetence.
In the hours after the bodies were found police failed to seal off the crime scene or close the island's port.
Gruesome pictures of the victims' bodies also quickly emerged online, piling on the misery of their distraught families.
Initially officers appeared to flounder in their quest for the perpetrators, casting suspicion on a backpacker seen drinking with Miller and Witheridge on the night they died and the son of an influential village headman.
Police eventually arrested and charged Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun, also known as Wai Phyo.
Within days of their arrest Thai police said the pair had confessed. But they soon retracted those confessions, insisting they were made under duress, a charge the police deny.
During the trial investigators were accused of failing to properly collect and preserve DNA samples and declining to test key pieces of evidence, such as Witheridge's clothes.
The murders stained Thailand's reputation as a tourist haven but did not prompt visitor numbers to significantly tail-off.
The bodies of Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, and David Miller, 24, were found on the neighbouring island of Koh Tao a year ago with terrible head injuries.
Prosecutors alleged that the accused men killed Mr Miller and then raped and murdered Miss Witheridge after they saw the Britons having sex on the beach. The victims were not a couple and no evidence has been presented that they were having sex when attacked.
Pornthip Rojanasunand, the head of Thailand's forensics institute, told the Koh Samui court that DNA found on the alleged murder weapon did not match that of the two accused Burmese men.
Prosecution witnesses said in court earlier this year that Miss Witheridge had been raped and DNA from Zaw Lin and Wei Phyo, both 22, was found in her body.
Zaw Lin, one of the suspects, told the court that he feared for his life after his interrogators stripped him naked in a freezing room, placed plastic bags over his head and repeatedly asked: “Did you kill or not?”
The baby-faced defendant claimed he was then blindfolded, beaten and told that he would be killed and his body dumped at sea if he did not admit the killing. “They told me ‘if you confess, you’ll just go to prison for four or five years,” he said.

**nidhogg** · 24-12-2015, 11:34 AM

Shit. Simply shit.

**Norton** · 24-12-2015, 12:02 PM

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

I hope the two Thais that did this get topped soon, and graphically...

Add this lot as well.

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

panel of three judges

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

Prosecutors

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

Thai police

Appeal to follow with same result to be sure.

**Seekingasylum** · 24-12-2015, 12:07 PM

The murderers of Koh Tao have just claimed two more victims.

That the families could possibly claim justice has been delivered is really a testament to their profound ignorance of Thailand and one which has been cynically exploited by a disgraceful British Foreign Office and those clodhopping, wooden-topped idiots from the Metropolitan Police Service.

This really is as shameful as it gets.

**Baas Babelaas** · 24-12-2015, 02:13 PM

Another reason to boycott Tiredland.

**Smug Farang Bore** · 24-12-2015, 02:26 PM

...and those who really did it....

They move up a notch in the Thailand 'untouchable' ladder and kick back and party tonight...

**boloa** · 24-12-2015, 02:30 PM

Why UK role in backpackers murder case still worries rights groups

British authorities are accused of providing more help to Thai prosecutors than team defending alleged killers of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller
Bar workers found guilty of killings
The victims: two lives cut short
The case that put Thailand on trial

Thai forensic investigators inspect a hotel room in Koh Tao where one of two murdered Britons was staying. Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images

Among the many complexities of the Koh Tao murder case has been the role of UK authorities: trying to help two grief-stricken British families while simultaneously exerting discreet pressure on Thai authorities to try and ensure a fair trial.

It has been a difficult and not completely successful balancing act. The British government has faced accusations it provided more help to those prosecuting the alleged killers of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller than defending them, even though it potentially breached legal guidelines about assisting a case involving capital punishment by doing so.

When the news first emerged in September last year that two young Britons had been murdered on the popular backpackers’ island, the UK’s role was, at first, a familiar one, helping the bereaved families with the terrible but necessary formalities of identifying and repatriating their loved ones’ bodies.

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But then came the arrest of two young Myanmar migrant workers, their swift confessions and the equally sudden news they had retracted these, amid claims they had been tortured into admitting guilt.

With alarm mounting in London about a possible miscarriage of justice the Foreign Office called in a senior Thai diplomat. Then, on the sidelines of a summit in Italy, David Cameron persuaded the Thai leader, Prayuth Chan-ocha – who had previously announced that migrants were the most likely culprits – to allow a team from the Metropolitan police to fly to Thailand and observe the investigation.

This was a hugely sensitive mission, and marked the beginning of many future difficulties. The largely pro bono legal team defending the men, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, both now 22, had been given virtually no access to the Thai prosecution case, and asked the Met to see its review of the investigation. This was repeatedly refused.

Then it emerged that four other British police forces had interviewed potential witnesses in the UK, at the request of Thai officers, and that the Foreign Office was also refusing to pass any of this information to the defence team.

The rights group Reprieve became involved, warning the government might have breached its own guidelines over not assisting overseas criminal cases where it was possible the defendants, as with Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, could be executed.

Reprieve launched a high court case under data protection laws, arguing the defendants had a right to see the information that the Met had about them. This was lost, even though the presiding judge said he had viewed the files and they contained nothing which could materially affect the verdict.

The rights group says it nonetheless remains concerned, both about a potentially flawed investigation and the UK role.

“In a case such as this, where there remains a real risk of a miscarriage of justice due to the use of evidence obtained under torture and the inadequate resources made available to the defence team, it is all the more important that the British government does everything in its power to ensure that the defendants receive a fair trial,” said Maya Foa, who heads Reprieve’s death penalty team.

“It is essential that the UK police authorities exercise extreme caution to ensure that they do not – directly or indirectly – contribute to the imposition of the death penalty in cases like this one.”

Complicating matters yet further was the involvement of the victims’ families, who made no comment on the investigation for more than two months. Amid their silence, the arrested men harboured hope the families might exert pressure for a fair trial. The suspects passed the Guardian a letter to the Witheridge and Miller families which stressed the pair’s innocence and asked for assistance in learning the UK police evidence, which the families had seen.

But a fortnight later, in December last year, the families’ first statements, released via the Foreign Office, gave unexpectedly strong support to the Thai police investigation. “We would like to stress that as a family we are confident in the work that has been carried out into these atrocious crimes,” said the Witheridges .

The Miller family said the evidence against Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo “appears to be powerful and convincing”.

The statement increased rights groups’ worries that the Met’s involvement might have been more than just observation. In the end, the high court case indicated the force’s role had been limited.

For those involved in the defence, the issue is as much symbolic as anything else. Andy Hall, a Thailand-based British rights activist who has been assisting the defence team, said the UK police role was “concerning”.

Their refusal to share any evidence with the defence, Hall said, “suggested possible breaches of UK protocol not to provide any assistance or support at all to a case where the death penalty was being called for”.

He added: “It seems the refusal to provide such information likely relates to the sensitive nature of the case and its implications for international relations between the two countries.”

Why UK role in backpackers murder case still worries rights groups | World news | The Guardian

**Horatio Hornblower** · 24-12-2015, 02:37 PM

When Prayuth uttered his words,he passed the verdict even before the case had begun.

Well done to the met and UK govt in being complicit in the case.

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