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Thailand Beach Murders: Police Set for Media Conference With British Ambassador

Tuesday, October 7, 2014
PHUKET: Documents are being taken by police to the prosecutor on the island of Samui so that tourist murder accusations against two Burmese can proceed in court tomorrow.

A media conference that includes the British Ambassador, Mark Kent, is due to be held in Bangkok this afternoon.

The murder victims, Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were found on a beach at Koh Tao on September 15, allegedly killed by Burmese bar workers, Win and Zaw Rim, both aged 21. The pair also allegedly raped Ms Witheridge.

The Superintendent of Koh Tao Police Station, Colonel Prachoom Rungtong, told Phuketwan today that he was taking case documents to Samui today so the preliminary court hearing could proceed tomorrow.

The colonel said he would then travel on to Bangkok to join a media conference about the murders. British Ambassador Mark Kent will be at the media conference, the colonel said.

Social media comments in three languages - English, Thai and Burmese - have often been critical of the police investigation and at the same time created more false trails and foolish theories.

Major General Paween Pongsirin, who went to Koh Tao from Phuket to take charge of the murder investigation and arrested the Burmese soon after, told Phuketwan on Sunday: ''I am satisfied the case is ready to proceed.

''Wednesday's hearing will give the various interested parties the opportunity to hear for themselves what we have learned.''

He added that there had been ''some error'' in the early part of the police investigation.

A team of migrant worker activists spoke to the accused men on Tuesday. On Monday evening, the men talked at length to representatives from the Burmese media.

Rights groups continue to raise concerns about possible physical abuse of the pair and other Burmese earlier in the investigation.

The pair admitted the killings to the Burmese media, according to sources.

Major General Paween told Phuketwan on Sunday: ''We accept that the case could have been better presented with a daily briefings spokesperson and a single analysis.''

Comments

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It's not just a matter of presentation. It's first David ' height ( 190 cm ) and the accused Burmese height ( 160 cm ? )that raise doubts. There were more than 2 persons and more weapons than reported. Tangible information from videos call for questions. As Hannah showed no signs of struggle she could have been drugged, for instance at a bar. Not only the parents of the victims deserve respect, also the victims and us, we all deserve respect, no lies please.

Posted by no-scapegoats on October 7, 2014 11:18

Editor Comment:

Guesswork won't bring the victims back and it won't help justice either. If you are not Agatha Christie, then it's probably best to let the police, British consular staff and independent observers do their jobs. The cacophony of opinions only hampers and confuses the process.

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Ed- "Social media comments in three languages - English, Thai and Burmese - have often been critical of the police investigation and at the same time created more false trails and foolish theories."
How can you say these theories are foolish? A theory is just that, until it has been proven or disregarded, but until that happens its unfair to say a theory is foolish unless you have knowledge that we or the 30k+ people who have signed the petition on change.org don't?

Posted by Josh on October 7, 2014 11:24

Editor Comment:

Theories are pure guesswork and in the days before the Internet, most people wisely kept their guesswork to themselves. What's the value of a petition by thousands of people in a murder investigation? The answer will soon become very clear.

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Theories are not guesswork, they are based on the evidence provided at the time, be that from the inconsistent police reports, the photos that often prove the police story as pure fantasy and the missing evidence such as the 2 minutes of cctv that clearly shows another person that has subsequently been deleted. That said, I do think these 2 currently arrested have something to do with the murders but there were others involved, it was even admitted today that a 3rd DNA has been found and they do not know who it belongs to. The highly respected Thai pathologist Khunying Pornthip has also stated there's been a cover up and the existence of a 3rd DNA sample, I have the link to her interview on video if you would like it. Hers is not a theory it is fact.

Posted by Josh on October 7, 2014 13:45

Editor Comment:

Dr Pornthip has a long record of being an adversary of the police about almost everything, and of not always being right. According to Burmese media, the two men have admitted the killings. Another reader recommends articles from British tabloid newspapers. Sadly, the investigation has become a soap opera with a circus during ad breaks.

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It's far from theoretical guesswork when the police officers were posting photos of the crime scene onto social media websites for all to see. We can see exactly what evidence they are going with. You seem so certain that the police force have done everything above board - exactly how aware are you of the corruption of the police force on koh tao, and the control the five families have? I can assure you it is there.

Posted by JD on October 9, 2014 01:07

Editor Comment:

We have no views on the the police investigation because we haven't been on Koh Tao. All of Thailand's holiday islands have problems with police remaining independent and free from local influences. The record of Major General Paween, who took over the case on October 1, is very good. You write ''You seem so certain that the police force have done everything above board'' when we've said nothing of the kind. That simply shows how assumptions make for misguided judgements.


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