Suspicions surround arrest of Myanmar men over Koh Toh murder Skip to main content

Suspicions surround arrest of Myanmar men over Koh Toh murder

Published on Sunday, 05 October 2014 03:00
oct5-kohtao
The accused two Myanmar migrant workers reenact the crime scene in Koh Toh in the photo released by the Thai police on October 3 (Photo – AFP)
The arrest of two Myanmar migrant workers for the murder of two British tourists in Thailand's Koh Toh has sparked criticisms, claiming flaws in the arrest.
According to the comments posted at the Bangkok Post website, both local and foreign people including the Thai people do not believe the two men were the real culprits after the Thai police charged them with alleged rape and murder on October 3.
The Thai police charged them after the two illegal migrant workers admitted that they killed David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23. The bodies of the two British tourists were found on Koh Toh on September 15.
The Thai police claimed that the DNA samples from the two men matched the DNA samples found on Witheridge's body. The police obtained DNA samples from 200 men residing and working at the island and the majority of them were taken from Myanmar migrant workers. However, the police earlier announced that the DNA testing did not match with the samples found on the British lady. Then, the police announced that the two Myanmar workers admitted to the murder and abruptly announced that the DNA samples from the two men matched the DNA samples found on Witheridge's body.
Earlier, the police have announced that a condom was found near the crime scene and Witheridge's DNA was found on the outside, but they did not reveal what was found on the inside of the condom.
The Thai investigation team revealed Win, 21, and Soe, 21 as the alleged culprits. The police have also detained Maung, 23, another Myanmar migrant worker besides the two men.
Win confessed that he attacked the British tourists with the plan to rape the woman after he saw them having sex. However, his confession contradicts the Thai police's earlier announcement on not finding evidence that the tourists were walking on the beach together and had stopped near the guesthouse to have sex. Moreover, the Thai police have announced earlier that no evidence of Miller's DNA was found on Witheridge's body. The police said they believed Miller was killed when he came to rescue Witheridge, who he had met recently.
A Myanmar lawyer representing the two Myanmar workers told BBC that the Thai police claimed to have found the mobile phone of the dead woman in the men's living quarters even though there are evidences of the mobile phone being submitted to the police station by her friend a day after the murder took place.
The Thai police offered an award of Bt 700,000 (Ks 21 million) for information to the murder. On October 1, a taxi driver accused the police of beating him up when he refused to give false evidence against a football team for the murder of the British tourists.
The British media has been deeply criticising the various flaws in the investigations after the murder took place. Many people believe the Thai police used the two Myanmar migrant workers as scapegoats due to hard pressure to solve the crime.
A delegation from the Myanmar embassy will meet with the suspects today after having doubts on the police's announcement that Myanmar migrant workers committed the murder.
Kyaw Thaung, executive director of Thai-based Myanmar Association told the Daily Eleven yesterday that the delegation had planned to see the two men yesterday, but they could not go until today as they needed to collect data. 
A delegation from the Myanmar embassy consisting of a consular officer from the Myanmar embassy, two lawyers from the Thai Lawyer Council, and Thai-based Myanmar workers organisations will try to travel from Surat Thani Province to the prison where the two suspects are detained to hold a direct meeting with them, according to Kyaw Thaung.
"Yesterday, the Thai police chief asked the two Myanmar workers alleged as suspects to reconstruct the murder at the Turtle Island (Kah Tao). This news was printed and broadcasted in Thai newspapers and TV channels. Both the Thais and the foreigners don't believe the Myanmar men killed them. I saw satirical cartoons in Thai newspapers saying the real culprit has been set free. The Myanmar ambassador for Thailand requested my help in investigating the truth of this incident so a delegation including two lawyers from the Thai Lawyer Council will go to meet with the Myanmar workers directly and question them. We will also try to meet with their friends, who are also Myanmar migrant workers. I've learnt that over ten people have been arrested," said Kyaw Thaung.
Whenever a murder case takes place in Thailand, the Thai police tend to arrest the Myanmar workers first and use various torture methods such as throwing hot water on the face and using cylindrical rulers on the ankles. Kyaw Thaung said he has doubts on the Thai police due to the past incident where the police initially accused an ethnic Chin migrant worker of murdering a university student in Chiang Mai, but the real culprit turned out to be a Cambodian.

http://www.elevenmyanmar.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7745:suspicions-surround-arrest-of-myanmar-men-over-koh-toh-murder&catid=44:national&Itemid=384 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chronology of the Press in Burma

1836 – 1846 * During this period the first English-language newspaper was launched under British-ruled Tenasserim, southern  Burma . The first ethnic Karen-language and Burmese-language newspapers also appear in this period.     March 3, 1836 —The first English-language newspaper,  The Maulmain Chronicle , appears in the city of Moulmein in British-ruled Tenasserim. The paper, first published by a British official named E.A. Blundell, continued up until the 1950s. September 1842 —Tavoy’s  Hsa-tu-gaw  (the  Morning Star ), a monthly publication in the Karen-language of  Sgaw ,  is established by the Baptist mission. It is the first ethnic language newspaper. Circulation reached about three hundred until its publication ceased in 1849. January 1843 —The Baptist mission publishes a monthly newspaper, the Christian  Dhamma  Thadinsa  (the  Religious Herald ), in ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera

The Life Story of A Distinguished And Outstanding Bhikkhu The Most Venerable Saradawpharagree Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera The Buddhist missionary Saradaw Ashin U Chandramani was endowed with great gifts and led a famous and long life. He was a very well known, distinguished and outstanding Bhikkhu Mahathera. While living in the Kushinagar Monastery, a place close to where the Lord Buddha had passed away to Nirvana, the Government of India had offered, and he had accepted, the highest, most honourable and respected title "Guru Guru MahaGuru". He became the first ever President of all Buddhists in India.A World Buddhist Conference took place in Kathmandu during the reign of King Mahindra of Nepal. The Conference was very well attended by over one hundred thousand Buddhists from various parts of the world and it was opened by King Mahindra himself. As requested by the King, Saradawpharagree blessed all the participants with the power of Triple Gems...
Post a Comment
Read more

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do...
1 comment
Read more