limbo

Are you quality enough to visit?; Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha has wanted the Sports and Tourism Ministry to screen incoming tourists to make sure they are of quality. However, he said that this did not mean that backpackers would not be welcome in this country but the Sports and Tourism Ministry must be more selective in allowing tourists to come to Thailand. The prime minister also mentioned the incident when the Thai ambassador to Britain was invited for a meeting with the British deputy foreign secretary for an explanation about the arrest of two Myanmar migrant workers under suspicion of involvement in the murder of two British backpackers on Koh Tao in mid-September. He said that the British minister was satisfied with the explanation from the Thai ambassador. He however added that if Britain wanted to join in the investigation of the murder case he would not have any objection unless it amounted to an interference in Thai affairs. Thai PBS

Choppers just happens to be a very popular place on Sairee Beach, where almost everyone on Koh Tao sooner or later visits. It's a sports bar with TV's and such, very well lit and open and no funny stuff happens there, in total contrast to AC Bar which is a dark, after hours hole (well, it's actually a big place). Choppers is owned by a Westerner who has been on KT for a long time. AC bar is where all the 'bad' and 'weird' stuff happens.

Not enough 'stiff upperlip'?

Sad but seemingly true.

The real problem is that a lot of very high ups, including Prayuth are sticking to their guns of 'good police work' and officers involved have already been promoted or are about to be. The loss of face would be unthinkable if they now have to turn around and say that it was indeed botched and torture was used etc. It's very interesting to see how this will unravel.

Amnesty International is getting involved, I wonder how long the Thai police and gvnmt can keep up appearances; Amnesty asks Koh Tao torture probe Human rights group Amnesty International urged Thailand on Wednesday to investigate allegations that police tortured a pair of suspects who reportedly confessed to killing two British tourists on a southern island last month. The tourists were found dead on the rocky shores of Koh Tao on Sept 15, and police last week arrested two migrant workers from neighbouring Myanmar who they said had admitted responsibility for the killings. Police deny suspects were tortured, and say they have DNA evidence that backs up the confessions. The arrests followed weeks of pressure on police to solve a case that dealt the latest blow to Thailand's tourism industry, which has been struggling to recover since the army staged a coup and imposed martial law in May. Amnesty cited a lawyer from the Myanmar Embassy's legal team, who met with the suspects, as saying that one of the migrants "alleged police beat and threatened him with electrocution." The group also said that "numerous sources have reported further acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of other migrant workers from Myanmar arrested by police in connection with the investigation." "Thai authorities must initiate an independent, effective and transparent investigation into mounting allegations of torture and other ill-treatment by police,'' Amnesty said. "The pressure to be seen to be solving an appalling crime that has garnered considerable attention should not result in the violation of rights, including to a fair trial." On Tuesday, national police chief Somyot Poompanmuang held a press conference in Bangkok to quash speculation and allegations on social media that his officers had framed the suspects or were seeking scapegoats. Another officer denied the torture allegations, and on Wednesday Police Lt. Gen. Jaktip Chaijinda, the head of the investigation team, told The Associated Press "there was neither torture, nor threats against the suspects in this case." BKK Post

Very surprised that the BKK Post published this, very worthwhile FB group to visit with lots of good information and articles relating to the Koh Tao murder case; Police stop talking about Koh Tao murder case, but amateur super-sleuths continue investigation online BKK Post

Koh Tao case shatters faith in our police Writer: Sanitsuda Ekachai After so many twists and turns in the Koh Tao beach murder case over the past three weeks, police finally arrested two young migrant workers from Myanmar. However, many believe they are scapegoats. The police have only themselves to blame. Such overwhelming public scepticism was not caused solely by the police's poor handling of the investigation, which became an international farce, but more significantly,... BKK Post

Koh Tao's other little secret: police extortion The Nation October 5, 2014 1:00 am Crackdown follows news that migrant workers without proper papers pay police Bt500 a month to work on the island The brutal murder of two Britons on Koh Tao has shed light on a number of things that Thai authorities hate to discuss. At the top, it revealed the attitude of the country's prime minister towards sex crime when he suggested that the rape and murder may have stemmed from how one of the victims was dressed. He later apologised for it and added that he was misunderstood. Nationally, needless to say, the double murder has dented the country's image as a tourist paradise. At the local level, police came under intense scrutiny for their sluggish handling of the investigation. Never mind that anger was building up because of the manner they were doing things in the days after the gruesome murders. The fact that they were chasing the wrong lead did not help, not to mention the absence of prompt and immediate reaction, such as locking down this small island immediately after the killing. Observers who understand the do's and don'ts at crime scenes have noted the authorities' unwillingness to prevent outsiders from trampling over physical evidence. Such tardiness reflects the snail's pace of Thailand's bureaucracy and the country's law enforcement is not much different in this respect. Obviously, as this case has shown, sound judgement and leadership is lacking, not to mention common sense. But this is just one of many cases. If law enforcers can blunder so much in spite of being under an intense spotlight, think of the other rape and murder cases they handle that don't get the national and international attention that this tragic case got. According to latest reports, two migrant workers from Myanmar have admitted to the murder of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller. As expected, they were presented to the public at a news conference. Damage control, perhaps. But this doesn't absolve the authorities of their lack of professionalism. Beside the poor handling of the case, one spotlight that the police did not want revealed was the nature of the ties between them and migrant workers. Yes, you guess it correctly - extortion. According to our findings, out of the 5,000 migrant workers on Koh Tao, about 2,000 work illegally without proper permits. To get around that each 'illegal' has to pay police Bt500 a month. And if they want to use a motorcycle, that's another Bt500 a month to get around the driver's licence issue. According to the local district chief, there are 3,300 migrant workers, mostly from Myanmar, registered to work on the island. By regulation, they have to pay Bt1,305 each year so they are entitled to the social security scheme. As expected, the government went into damage-control mode and began to register all migrant workers in Surat Thani province, where Koh Tao is situated. Whether these developments are enough to restore confidence among foreign visitors, no one could say. After all, no one in their right mind believes that the authorities don't know about this extortion and other irregularities. It's really sad that they have to wait for the gruesome murder of two British nationals to do something about it. If Thai authorities really want to demonstrate that they are committed to public safety, they shouldn't have to wait until a public spotlight to force them to do so. Because if they crackdown on these irregularities, their action will speak for itself The Nation

Cynic

It may well be that the they have been tested before already, pictures are floating around where one of the supposed murderers is lining up for what seems to be a dna test, (a few) day(s) before he was arrested.

Thanks for finding those articles Mac!

Thanks for finding those articles Mac!

Thanks, found the link.

You have a link to this Bust? Is the picture top left the murdered male?

You can easily change the petition language into English, at the bottom of the page there will be a box with Thai script, click the box and options for other languages will show up. including 4 or 5 kinds of English Here it is in English https://www.change.o...ller?lang=en-GB Over 7,000 people signed in just one day, after just 300+ signed on the first day

Police said this morning DNA from two Burmese migrant workers matched traces found at the crime scene where they’ve confessed to killing a pair of British holidaymakers whose battered bodies were found on Koh Tao last month. David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, were found dead on the normally tranquil backpacker haven of Koh Tao on Sept. 15, rocking the island's small community. The grisly double-murder dented Thailand's image as a tourist paradise, while the police have come under intense scrutiny for their handling of the investigation. "Two Myanmar suspects have confessed to killing the pair," National police chief Somyot Poompanmoung told AFP, adding that their DNA matched traces found at the crime scene. A third Myanmar national had been held since Thursday on suspicion of involvement, Somyot, Thailand's top policeman, added. "The third suspect said he left the crime scene before murder took place," Somyot said. "DNA test results (from the two men) confirmed that the same DNA was found in the body of the (female) victim," he added. Kiattipong Khaosamang, the provincial police chief, told AFP that the two men had also admitted to raping Witheridge. "Both raped the female victim," he said, adding the pair were killed with a wooden stick and a garden hoe, which was found bloodied at the scene. Police are waiting for a local court to issue a warrant so the men can be charged, he added. Breakthrough meets skepticism 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. But police have insisted they would not scapegoat anyone for the crime, despite coming under immense pressure to get a result as anger built over an apparently sluggish investigation in the days after the bodies were found. Police have since DNA-tested scores of people in and around Koh Tao and questioned dozens of people – including friends of Miller – and Friday's seeming breakthrough will ease the scrutiny on the Thai force. Critics – especially among the British media – have accused Thai authorities of bungling the investigation in the near three weeks since the murders by chasing the wrong leads and failing to lock down the island in the hours following the killings. The media pack was allowed to trample all over the crime scene just hours after the crime, while information – often erroneous – flowed out unfiltered until the intervention of the nation's top police officer. According to a Morning News report, the scene of the crime is near a wooden log where witnesses suggest the three Burmese men were often seen playing guitar. Police recovered several cigarette butts from there and said they collected DNA evidence. Police claim Win, 21, confessed to playing guitar on the wooden log near the crime spot with the two other Burmese workers, Saw and Mao. According to police, he said Mao departed the scene before he and Saw spotted the tourists together. Win said he became aroused, police say, so the two men picked up a shovel nearby and snuck up to hit Miller on the head before dragging his body away. Then they turned to assault Witheridge, according to police. Official response The killings delivered a fresh blow to Thailand's image as a tourist haven after months of political protests that ended in May's army coup. Days after the murders, Thailand's junta chief was forced into an apology after he suggested tourists in bikinis could be more vulnerable to attack – comments which caused an international outcry. With the peak tourist season fast approaching Thai authorities are desperate to draw a line under the incident. "I think the tourist confidence will improve," Kobkarn Wattanavarangkul, Minister of Tourism and Sports told AFP, hours after the apparent confessions. "The issue of tourist security is very important to us," she said. On Tuesday, tourist authorities announced plans to give holidaymakers wristbands carrying their personal details in an effort to ensure the safety of tourists. Story: AFP, Coconuts Bangkok Photo: Morning News http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2014/10/03/police-claim-dna-links-two-myanmar-workers-koh-tao-murders

Supposedly they did but were cleared, although conflicting comments have been given by different MIB's.

Looks the case is solved without needing any scapegoat or à¹à¸žà¸°à¸£à¸±à¸šà¸šà¸²à¸› No surprise they confessed after "a grueling daylong interrogation after the first suspect who confessed implicated his colleagues." The police have arrested three Myanmar migrant workers after 18 days have passed since the murder of two British tourists on Koh Tao Island on September 15. Initially one suspect confessed but two others denied. But after a grueling daylong interrogation after the first suspect who confessed implicated his colleagues. The two later admitted to the crimes. Originally, two of the three suspects, all Arakanese from Arakan state in Myanmar, were apprehended by police early in the morning hours. These two men were currently being employed as waiters in a restaurant on the island. The arrest came after police obtained an image captured by a closed-circuit TV camera in 7-Eleven convenient store showing the three men entering a convenient store and purchasing cigarettes and alcohol and then proceeding to a long on the beach close to the actual crime scene. The LM cigarettes which one of the suspects purchased were the same as the same brand of cigarette butts the forensic police collected from the scene. The DNA test of the cigarette butts matched those found in the body of Ms Hanna Witheridge, 23. On being arrested these two men admitted to sitting on said log and consuming alcohol and playing a guitar but denied having any involvement in the murders. Police officers then led the two to a safe-house where they were intensively interrogated. While this was going on another team of police officers arrested the third man at a Surat Thani municipal pier after it was discovered that he had boarded a boat and left Koh Tao Island late last night. He was escorted to 8th Region Police headquarters for questioning. Comparing his features to images captured on CCTV, police were able to ascertain that he was one of the three men in the footage. He had recently dyed his hair black when originally his hair was dyed blond. Some blond strands of human hair were found at the scene and were kept as evidence. Police are awaiting DNA test results to confirm their case. Later in the day, Pol. Lt. Gen. Jakthip Chaichinda, the acting Royal Thai Police deputy commissioner, revealed that the three men had admitted to having committed the crime. Meanwhile the acting assistant commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Pol. Lt. Gen. Panya Mamen, identified the three Myanmar workers to the media Win, Mao and Sor and it was Win who first admitted to the crime. On the night of the incident, Win revealed that he and his two accomplices were drinking, singing and playing the guitar approximately 65 meters from the murder scene. They sang songs in the Yakai (Arakanese) dialect which tallies with eyewitness accounts that on the night of the murder, some people had seen Burmese men playing the guitar and singing at that spot. All eyewitnesses stated that the songs were neither in Thai nor Burmese language but no one could make out the dialect. At this point, the police managed to have an Arakanese waiter who worked at a Bungalow nearby the scene as witness. He told the police that the group of men singing and playing guitar are Arakanese from Arakan state in Myanmar. The police then started to clandestinely follow the group’s movement. Win went on to say that later on they had seen the two British tourists walking towards a cluster of rocky reefs and were romantically embracing and cuddling each other. Win stated that he was curious and grabbed a garden hoe and went to sneak a peek of the couple making out. He admitted to being sexually aroused and along with his two accomplices had used the hoe to beat the male tourist and then dumping his body in the sea. They then proceeded to rape the woman and finally killing her by hitting her with the same garden hoe. They then disposed of the murder weapon which was later found by police. Police have collected the DNA samples of all three men the test results are expected to be revealed tomorrow. Pol. Gen. Somyos Phumphanmuang, the commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, flew to Koh Tao later in the day to personally question the men and following that, formal charges will be filed against them. Earlier in the day, Mr. Mark Kent, the British ambassador to Thailand, paid a formal visit to Pol. Gen. Somyos Phumphanmuang at the Royal Thai Police headquarters to personally congratulate him on being promoted to the post of commissioner of the Royal Thai Police. While there, he was given updates in the developments of the murder case and expressed his satisfaction on how the case was being handled and his government would not interfere in any way with the investigation. Mr. Kent went on to praise the Royal Thai Police in solving the case and have shown exemplary professionalism as a crime fighting unit. The British Ambassador later said “Thailand and the UK have always mutually helped each other in the past and the cooperation has always benefitted both countries. This new development reaffirms our confidence in both our countries abilities.†http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/three-migrant-workers-confess-rape-murder-british-tourists/

Sorry, mac, too much logic in just three sentences, I'm overwhelmed now

I would imagine not only there

Always used specific download programs which were easily found on Google, haven't done that since a few months so don't know about any current changes

Vote buying, populist (and broken) promises just to name a few