2 Myanmar workers confess to killing UK tourists in Thailand
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TWO Myanmar workers have confessed to killing two British tourists in Thailand and a DNA match has been found, police said yesterday, adding that a case that damaged the country’s tourism industry had almost been resolved.
The Southeast Asian nation, which generates almost 10 percent of gross domestic product from tourism, is still under martial law after a May 22 coup that scared off some tourists.
The bodies of David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, were discovered on a beach on Koh Tao, or Turtle Island, in the south of the country on September 15, close to the hotel where they had been staying.
“The suspects admitted that they are the real culprits so we have brought both to do a reconstruction,” national police chief Somyot Poompanmoung said.
The men, identified by police as “Saw” and “Win,” wore white motorcycle helmets and handcuffs as they took part in the re-enactment, a common practice in Thai murder cases.
The pair raped Witheridge before killing her, Somyot told reporters in Koh Tao, adding that the DNA of the two men matched DNA found on the deceased.
Growing criticism
The news follows weeks of pressure on police to find the murderers and growing criticism of authorities over the standard of the investigation, from not sealing off the crime scene quickly enough to letting potential suspects leave the island.
With two suspects in custody, police were gathering evidence and would seek an arrest warrant from a court, deputy national police chief Jaktip Chaijinda said. A third Myanmar citizen had been held since Thursday on suspicion of involvement, he added.
“Today the case should be finished because we want to clear this case up as soon as possible so that our tourism industry can bounce back,” Jaktip said.
Some rights groups have voiced concern over the lack of legal representation for the men. “The suspects have been kept without legal representation. We still don’t have lawyers observing the process directly,” said Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, a human rights activist.
Migrant workers, particularly from neighboring Myanmar, have been used as scapegoats for crimes in Thailand before. The rape and murder of 23-year-old Welsh backpacker Kirsty Jones in 2000 was blamed on an ethnic Karen guide from Myanmar who was beaten by police in an attempt to coerce a confession.
Despite a number of arrests, no charges have ever been brought over her death.
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