Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Thai police question 3 Myanmar men over murder of 2 British tourists
Japan Today ^ | World Sep. 16, 2014 - 04:09PM JST

Posted on 09/16/2014 5:06:26 AM PDT by DeaconBenjamin

Thai police Tuesday questioned three Myanmar men over the murder of two British tourists on the southern resort island of Koh Tao, as their bodies were due to arrive in Bangkok for forensic tests.

David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, were found naked and beaten to death early Monday near a beachside bungalow on the island, a diving hot-spot near Koh Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand.

A bloodied hoe was discovered 35 meters from the murder scene.

“Three male Myanmar migrant workers are under police detention for investigation,” southern regional police commander Panya Maman told AFP, without providing any further details.

A second officer said police were not looking for a British man who had traveled with Miller, contrary to UK media reports.

“All of the British nationals are now on their way home,” provincial police chief Kiattipong Khawsamang told AFP, adding they had been “cleared” as suspects.

Neither officer was able to confirm Thai television reports that police had seized an iPhone and blood-stained jeans after raiding rooms used by the Myanmar suspects.

Thai authorities frequently accuse migrants from Myanmar and Cambodia of committing crimes in the kingdom, where they make up a vast, poorly-paid and low-status workforce.

The bodies of the victims, who arrived in Thailand on Aug 25, are being driven the 500 kilometers from southern Surat Thai province and are due in Bangkok later Tuesday for forensic tests.

Koh Tao, home to stunning white sand beaches and azure waters, is popular with divers but is smaller and more laid-back than neighboring Koh Phangan—which draws hordes of backpackers to its hedonistic “full moon” party.

On Tuesday, Thai junta chief and prime minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha appeared to call into question the victims’ conduct in addition to the perpetrators of the attack.

“We have to look into the behavior of the other party too because this kind of incident should not happen to anybody and it has affected our image,” he told reporters, referring to the two tourists.

Speaking a few hours later, he said Thai authorities must tell “tourists when the safe times are to be outside, we have to help them understand.”

Police earlier said the pair had been seen partying at a local bar just hours before they died.

The murders are likely to heap more misery on Thailand’s lucrative tourism industry, which has been battered in recent months after a prolonged political crisis ended in a coup.

The army swiftly blanketed the country with a curfew and strict martial law, frightening off visitors.

Although the curfew was soon lifted from key tourist hotspots, visitor numbers have yet to rebound and martial law remains in place.

Military leaders have vowed to restore the nation’s reputation as the “Land of Smiles” with a clean-up targeting tourist resorts after a series of complaints about scams, assaults and even police extortion.

Britain says Thailand is the country where its citizens are second most likely to require consular assistance if they visit, behind the Philippines.

There were 389 deaths of British nationals in Thailand in the year to March 2013—about one for every 2,400 British visitors or residents—although that figure includes natural causes.

But it is rare for tourists to be murdered in Thailand, although it is not uncommon for visitors to die accidentally.

Dismayed Kho Tao locals told AFP the grisly crime was the first of its kind on the normally sleepy island.

Television footage late Monday showed many residents wearing black as a sign of mourning.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; Government
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 09/16/2014 5:06:26 AM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: DeaconBenjamin
he said Thai authorities must tell “tourists when the safe times are to be outside, we have to help them understand.”

and people still want to be tourists there?

2 posted on 09/16/2014 5:37:14 AM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GeronL

I haven’t been there in a while so I’m not sure whether things have changed much, but Thailand is one of the world’s premier places to visit.

For real.


3 posted on 09/16/2014 5:41:15 AM PDT by Cringing Negativism Network (http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html#2013)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: DeaconBenjamin

“Never get out of the boat.” - Apocalypse Now


4 posted on 09/16/2014 5:52:30 AM PDT by PLMerite (Shut the Beyotch Down! Burn, baby, burn!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DeaconBenjamin

Southern Thailand... Myanmar workers... Muslim rape/murder? Seems likely, not that it helps anyone after the fact.


5 posted on 09/16/2014 6:09:32 AM PDT by Pearls Before Swine
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GeronL
he said Thai authorities must tell “tourists when the safe times are to be outside, we have to help them understand.”

and people still want to be tourists there?

Of course. Just like Europeans still want to vacation in Florida even after all the serious assaults and carjackings that occur from simply making a wrong turn and ending up a bad part of town.

There is nothing remotely resembling those areas here. Nobody knows the facts yet in this case, but 99% of foreigners that get into trouble are drunk, seriously obnoxious, buying drugs, or buying sex on the street.

6 posted on 09/16/2014 6:33:11 AM PDT by expat1000 ("If you're explaining, you're losing." Ronald Reagan)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Pearls Before Swine
Southern Thailand... Myanmar workers... Muslim rape/murder? Seems likely, not that it helps anyone after the fact.

Burmese workers here are the Thai exquivalent of Mexican/Central American illegals there. Thailand tries to control the border and does deport them regularly, but wages are a lot higher here than Myanmar and there's a never ending and unstoppable flow of them coming in to do manual labor.

That area is not one that has any history of Muslim-separatist terrorism that I'm aware of. It was most likely a straight criminal act. A drug deal gone bad is a definite possibility.

About that very high number of Brits dying here - most are probably suicides of guys that gave all their current and future earnings to their little "tilacs" (darlings) who ran off with them with their Thai boyfriend back upcountry.

7 posted on 09/16/2014 6:46:10 AM PDT by expat1000 ("If you're explaining, you're losing." Ronald Reagan)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: expat1000

Thanks for the info.


8 posted on 09/16/2014 6:54:35 AM PDT by Pearls Before Swine
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Pearls Before Swine

You’re welcome, PBS!


9 posted on 09/16/2014 7:20:23 AM PDT by expat1000 ("If you're explaining, you're losing." Ronald Reagan)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: DeaconBenjamin

Mrs. VanShuyten and I went to Koh Tao about 15 years ago, and the most dangerous things there were falling palm fronds, water buffalo, and drunken (but jolly) Aussie surfers and divers.


10 posted on 09/16/2014 10:08:30 AM PDT by VanShuyten ("a shadow...draped nobly in the folds of a gorgeous eloquence.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson