Murder reenactment: 200 policemen deployed to guard two Myanmar men on Koh Tao

[webfact]

200 policemen deployed to guard two Myanmar men on Koh Tao

KOH TAO: -- About 200 policemen were deployed to guard two Myanmar suspects during a reenactment of their alleged murder of two British tourists.

About 1,000 residents of Koh Tao turned up to look at the suspects during the reenactment at 11 am. Police had to stand surrounding the suspects to guard them.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/200-policemen-deployed-to-guard-two-Myanmar-men-on-30244684.html

-- The Nation 2014-10-03

[webfact]

Myanmar migrant workers taken for crime reenactment of murder of 2 British tourists amid tight security at Ko Tao in Surat Thani /MCOT

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Reenactment of two British nationals murders to be done today

By Digital Content



BANGKOK, Oct 3 -- National police chief Pol Gen Somyot Poompanmoung is scheduled to take two Myanmar nationals suspected of murdering two British tourists nearly three weeks ago for a reenactment at the crime scene on Ko Tao, the small island in the Gulf of Thailand and off the coast of the southern province of Surat Thani, on Friday.

More than 200 anti-riot and plainclothes police will be deployed during the reenactment which will be held after a press conference.

Police said a third Myanmar man, believed to be a close friend of those two suspects, will be asked to stand as a witness because he did not join in the rape and murder.

The reenactment of the crime will be held after police said results of DNA tests on semen found on Hannah Victoria Witheridge, 23, matched with the two suspects.

Ms Witheridge and David William Miller, 24, were brutally murdered on a Ko Tao beach early on September 15.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister/Defence Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan told journalists that the suspects were "not scapegoats" and evidence obtained by police showed that they were connected with the murder.

Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha said he had received information from the police that three Myanmar nationals had been arrested by police. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2014-10-03

[cornishcarlos]

They should be guarded, there are still at least 2 killers on the loose..!!!

[Fred Flinstone]

A great many of us who have closely followed the case , guessed it would come to this.

A predictable outcome with intense dubious results to the horror of a very bad crime.

Indeed we are led through it.

And Thais can claim as they always said from the very beginning.

That they couldn't have committed the crime.

[yougivemebaby]

How else could they coach them?

[MrWorldwide]

I think most of us accept that it's been a sham from go to whoa, but did we really think it would go any other way ? Someone made the point that we have a lot of 'experts' on TV - no argument from me, but the BiB is one aspect of Thai life where I have to agree with the bashers on this forum. Like their counterparts across the region, the mud sticks - whether its incompetence, corruption or a combination, the Police here dont inspire confidence - even the local population detest them.

[SirBser]

Why isn't it on the news live...?

[NongKhaiKid]

Directed and Produced by Somchai Spielberg

[siampolee]

You couldn't have a better performance from the police farce force if they had achieved a 100% at R.A.D.A.

A fish rots from the head down

When an organization or state fails, it is the leadership that is the root cause.

Edited October 3, 2014 by siampolee

[farangabroad]

Where are all the Western feminists and Social Justice Warriors when you need them?

The same "gap year" girls who want to "just have some fun" binge drinking and taking hits of acid at the full-moon parties are nowhere to be seen.

Instead of hiring a lawyer for these three men who have obviously been tortured, the feminists and their Western media allies are focusing on "Campus Rape" and "Yes can still mean No."

Where is the outrage from the same type of people who support this island's economy?

[balo]

Problem is you will not believe any Burmese did it now after all the Thai bashing on here. Maybe time to take a break and look at the facts again ? Is it really possible that someone else than the headman and his family did it ?

[jacky54]

Problem is you will not believe any Burmese did it now after all the Thai bashing on here. Maybe time to take a break and look at the facts again ? Is it really possible that someone else than the headman and his family did it ?

Yes it is possible, but hardly credible that it's these three Burmese who have admitted it after intensive treatment in a safe house, safe from what the screams being heard? Can you explain away the beating and bribing of the taxi driver or the fact that DNA matches were impossible in the time given?

Edited October 3, 2014 by jacky54

[Snig27]

Problem is you will not believe any Burmese did it now after all the Thai bashing on here. Maybe time to take a break and look at the facts again ? Is it really possible that someone else than the headman and his family did it ?

We will never know though will we – the whole rotten law and justice system from the bottom up to the highest courts in the land are designed to ensure things are manipulated to get the desired result. I'm not Thai bashing at all, and I agree that the relentless bashing that goes on in these forums is nauseating, but you do hope that they have got it right.

[Local Drunk]

Two hundred cops to protest them from who?

[MrWorldwide]

Problem is you will not believe any Burmese did it now after all the Thai bashing on here. Maybe time to take a break and look at the facts again ? Is it really possible that someone else than the headman and his family did it ?

Absolutely, and in a transparent system with an effective police force I'd agree that 'we' could have it all wrong - perhaps the cops really did get their men - if this had been Bali or Langkawi I would have the same reservations based on reports of the way local police have handled this case. I very rarely bash the Thais - if anything I could be construed as an apologist - but their police force just arent up to scratch IMO,

Edited October 3, 2014 by MrWorldwide

[Local Drunk]

It's a stitch up show showcase courtesy of the __________. Please fill in the blank.

[jpeg]

Where are all the Western feminists and Social Justice Warriors when you need them?

The same "gap year" girls who want to "just have some fun" binge drinking and taking hits of acid at the full-moon parties are nowhere to be seen.

Instead of hiring a lawyer for these three men who have obviously been tortured, the feminists and their Western media allies are focusing on "Campus Rape" and "Yes can still mean No."

Where is the outrage from the same type of people who support this island's economy?

Is that you General P?

[Local Drunk]

Problem is you will not believe any Burmese did it now after all the Thai bashing on here. Maybe time to take a break and look at the facts again ? Is it really possible that someone else than the headman and his family did it ?

Absolutely, and in a transparent system with an effective police force I'd agree that 'we' could have it all wrong - perhaps the cops really did get their men - if this had been Bali or Langkawi I would have the same reservations based on reports of the way local police have handled this case. I very rarely bash the Thais - if anything I could be construed as an apologist - but their police force just arent up to scratch IMO,

The real problem is that the RTP have no credibility. No one believes what they say because no one believes that they are honest, and they aren't.

These kids might very well have done it but it doesn't look that way from any perspective.

[Commerce]

They should be guarded, there are still at least 2 killers on the loose..!!!

Brilliant!

[webfact]

Thai police charge Myanmar men with murder, rape of Brit tourists
Bangkok, Thailand | AFP |

BANGKOK: -- Thai police Friday charged two Myanmar men with murder and rape after the killing of two British tourists on a southern island last month, in a case that has severely dented the kingdom's image as a holiday haven.

The charges come after police said the undocumented migrant workers had confessed to murdering David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, whose battered bodies were found on Koh Tao on September 15.

The men have been charged with the murder of both Britons -- a charge which carries the death penalty -- and the gang rape of Witheridge, with police saying that their DNA matched samples taken from her body.

"The two Myanmar nationals are charged with murder (of both tourists), gang rape (of Witheridge) and stealing," Prachum Ruangthong, police chief of neighbouring Koh Phangan island, told AFP.

The breakthrough follows intense scrutiny of Thai authorities, which had been accused -- in criticism led by the British media -- of bungling the investigation in the days after the crime.

Earlier Friday police said the two men, who now face the death penalty for the charge of murder, had admitted to killing the Britons and raping Witheridge.

"Two Myanmar suspects have confessed to killing the pair," Thai national police chief Somyot Poompanmoung told AFP. "DNA test results (from the two men) confirmed that the same DNA was found in the body of the (female) victim."

The two men were among three nationals from Myanmar -- formerly known as Burma -- held since Thursday on suspicion of involvement in the crime.

The third suspect is believed to be a witness and is currently under police protection on Koh Tao, provincial police chief Kiattipong Khaosamang told AFP.

The two Myanmar men, whose names police were unable to confirm, were taken to the island by investigators to recreate the crime scene Friday, a common practice in Thai murder cases.

Hundreds of onlookers watched as the handcuffed men -- wearing bullet-proof vests and white helmets -- walked along the beach where the Britons were found dead, surrounded by scores of police officers on the normally tranquil island.

"Both men raped the female victim," Kiattipong said earlier, adding the British pair were killed with a wooden stick and a garden hoe, which was found bloodied at the scene.

Thai authorities dismissed concerns that they have arrested scapegoats when questioned by reporters.

"Please be reassured that police have worked to their best ability so it's not possible that they have arrested scapegoats," Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said Friday.


- Police under pressure -



In the weeks since the crime, police have DNA-tested hundreds of people in and around Koh Tao and questioned dozens of people -- including friends of Miller.

They had come under intense pressure to solve the case after being criticised for mismanaging the probe by chasing the wrong leads and failing to lock down the island in the hours following the killings.

Journalists were allowed to trample all over the crime scene hours after the murders, while information -- often erroneous -- flowed out unfiltered until the intervention of the nation's top police officer.

The grisly double murders have delivered a fresh blow to Thailand's image as a tourist haven after months of political protests that ended in May's army coup.

Days after the murders, Thailand's gruff junta chief was forced into an apology after he suggested tourists in bikinis could be more vulnerable to attack -- comments that caused an international outcry.

With the peak tourist season fast approaching, Thai authorities are desperate to draw a line under the incident.

"I think the tourist confidence will improve," Minister of Tourism and Sports Kobkarn Wattanavarangkul told AFP, hours after the purported confessions.

Thailand's once-booming tourism industry was already scrambling to rebound from a slump in foreign visitor numbers after the coup and a night-time curfew tarnished its reputation as the "Land of Smiles".

The tourism ministry has estimated a more than eight percent drop in revenue from tourism this year -- down from 1.2 trillion baht ($37 billion) in 2013 to 1.1 trillion baht this year.


-- (c) Copyright AFP 2014-10-03

[Commerce]

David would have leathered those 2 scrawny brats, even with a beer in him - probably worse - he was a big lad! Again, that doesn't add up; never discussed.

[Neilly]

"I think the tourist confidence will improve," Minister of Tourism and Sports Kobkarn Wattanavarangkul told AFP, hours after the purported confessions.

[balo]

Problem is you will not believe any Burmese did it now after all the Thai bashing on here. Maybe time to take a break and look at the facts again ? Is it really possible that someone else than the headman and his family did it ?

Yes it is possible, but hardly credible that it's these three Burmese who have admitted it after intensive treatment in a safe house, safe from what the screams being heard? Can you explain away the beating and bribing of the taxi driver or the fact that DNA matches were impossible in the time given?

It was called a safe house by the media because , well its a safe house. Why do people think that they were beaten brutally by the police to become scape goats ? All this imagination going on here, yes they were interrogated and its normal to do that inside a room.

So again you draw your own conclusions based on nothing but fantasy.

I ageee that the reported beating of a taxi driver was strange but the story was never confirmed by the media , it was only mentioned in a small local news site. If this is important someone should already been in touch with the taxi driver so the world can be informed how the police tried to bribe him to become a witness.

About the DNA time frame, do you know the exact time from they took the sample until it was ready ? Again we read something reported in the media but the real facts are only known to the people working at the scene and the lab in Bangkok and Singapore.

[jacky54]

With the peak tourist season fast approaching, Thai authorities are desperate to draw a line under the incident.

That's they key phrase here, so desperate that anyone, not Thai of course would do. If these guys had done it they would have run days ago.

[Noi657]

Mehhhh.... Still won't be going to Koh Tao anytime soon!

[Chris Lawrence]

Maybe, they need protection from the police?

Henry Bolte liked a good hanging; he was the last Government in Victoria, Oz to organise a hanging during his reign as the state premier. And guess what, he got re-elected.

This case although very sad for the victims and their families, has episodes appearing in the press as being less than competent by the officials conducting the investigation. So the revelation of these 3 as the culprits leaves a sense of doubt in my mind. I hope they have caught the right people, but if they have been stitched up to satisfy the need to show the police are capable of finding the killers, it would be sad for all.

The person or persons that did this grusome act, need to be put away.

Well sending these guys through the court system, a guilty verdict will be assured. Legal representation will be what they can afford?

[retsdon]

I just watched this charade on TV. There was something nauseating about it which I can't quite put my finger on.

[Local Drunk]

I just watched this charade on TV. There was something nauseating about it which I can't quite put my finger on.

Put your finger in your throat mate and let it all go...

[Katipo]

It appears on the Thai language forums that 90% of people are dismissing the arrests as a cover up. From a Thai message board today. Translated into English:

"Come and ask me here. Come and ask me there. I am a Koh Tao resident, although my mom gave birth to me at Surat Tani. My family is very close to all the influential figures on this island, including the owner of this resort.

I want to tell the truth. I can't hold it any longer. I would like to tell "Trasher Page" that the murderers are not Burmese."That's all I want to say" and What "CSI LA Page" published, it is very close to the truth 97.8769%.

I would like to say that Koh Tao is just like a Kingdom of its own. The local mafia family can do whatever they want and get away with it. For example, in 2011, a bar owner got shot to death. Everybody in the island know who did it, but never had the nerve to speak out. People here are strange. They are wiling to cover up wrong doing for the local mafia. Thailand might be a democratic country, but in Koh Tao it is Feudalism."

[6NS]

Two hundred cops to protest them from who?

Dog and pony show, boy they really are scared for these poor 3 boys lives, bull,

They don't want to let the boys to have a chance to signal a friend or media with, I'M BEING FRAMED outburst.