Burmese embassy requests reopening Koh Tao murder case Skip to main content

Burmese embassy requests reopening Koh Tao murder case


The Burmese embassy’s legal team has requested reopening the investigation into the murder of two British citizens on the Thai island of Koh Tao.

Lawyer Aung Myo Thant told DVB that the embassy made the request to Thailand’s Ministry of Legal Affairs on Monday evening on the basis that confessions by Burmese suspects Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun were made under duress of torture.
“The kids [Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun] have told the Thai human rights commission, the lawyers, our embassy team and their parents on each occasion that they were beaten by police,” he said. “Therefore we requested that a special team be formed to reinvestigate the case. We presented a written letter of request to a ministry official.”

Aung Myo Thant said that he and the embassy team had met with members of the Thai Lawyers Council, the country’s Human Rights Commission and the suspects’ parents from 1pm to 3:30pm on Monday, 3 November.

A representative of the Human Rights Commission called on police to answer the allegations of beatings or torture during interrogation, but the police failed to show up at the meeting, the second time they have failed to appear, said Burmese embassy team member Kyaw Thaung of the Myanmar Association in Thailand.

“The [Thai] Human Rights Commission requested the Thai Lawyers Council and ourselves to present any information we had,” he told DVB by telephone. “They also requested any evidence that contradicts the DNA tests. We exchanged information about the details of the case.”

British tourists David Miller and Hannah Witheridge were bludgeoned to death on Koh Tao in the early hours of 15 September. Miss Witheridge was also raped. After an international outcry, Burmese migrants Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun were arrested two weeks later, police claiming that DNA taken from Witheridge matched the two suspects.

The Burmese pair now say they are innocent of the crimes and maintain that they confessed under duress after police told them they would be killed if they did not confess.

http://dvb.no/news/burmese-embassy-requests-reopening-koh-tao-murder-case-burma-myanmar/45614

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...

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...

Three Dead, Seven Injured by Artillery Shells in Two Incidents in Myanmar’s Mrauk-U

By MIN AUNG KHINE 2 December 2019 Sittwe, Rakhine State –Three Mrauk-U township residents died and four others were injured when an artillery shell struck their community in the Ale Zay quarter of Mrauk-U town on Monday afternoon after 4 p.m. A month-old girl, a 4-year-old boy and a 30-year-old woman died, according to Dr. Khin Maung Yin, the head of Mrauk-U hospital. He said, “A man and three other women were injured. One of the women sustained severe injures to her left leg and her right knee was dislocated. The injured will be operated on.” Details of what occurred were not yet known. A few hours earlier, three civilians were injured when an artillery shell fell on the village of Na Leik in Mrauk-U Township, Rakhine State, western Myanmar, on Monday at around 1 p.m., according to Yan Aung Pyin village-tract administrator U Sein Hla Aung. Two females, aged 13 and 27, and an 18-year-old male were injured in the incident, he said. Three people were hit by shrapnel and we have...