Phuket tourist murder: Suspect has admitted everything, police chief thanks private sector for 200K donation

[webfact]

Picture: Daily News

 

The chief of police in the southern Thai island of Phuket has said that the suspect in the murder of 57 year old Nicole Sauvain-Weisskopf has admitted the killing and robbery. 

 

Evidence continues to be gathered against Theerawat  Thorthip or Banglee, 27, ahead of being presented to prosecutors.

 

The suspect is being held in Phuket jail, reported Daily News yesterday.

 

Pol Maj-gen Saksira Pheuak-am thanked the 16 private organisations that donated 200,000 baht to police investigators and medical personnel for their work on the case. 

 

The Swiss tourist was found dead at the Ao Yon waterfall last week after she went for a walk from her hotel. The arrest followed two days after the discovery of the body. 

 

The suspect has already been taken on a reenactment to the scene of the crime. 

 

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[BE88]

200,000 baht to police investigators.

Definitely a good contribution not to miss the opportunity.

[Scrotobike]

Being poor is NO excuse: but the level of hardship/lack of drug money will mean an increase in crime (maybe not as bad as murder). Another side effect of Covid.

 

Get some bobbies on the beat (sorry if you are not a Brit and cannot understand my English)

[Sticky Rice Balls]

13 minutes ago, BE88 said:

200,000 baht to police investigators.

Definitely a good contribution not to miss the opportunity.

I suppose could have cost the island a lot more if they never found the guy....(tourism)

As I was a bit shocked to see this on my US newsfeed as I rarely see thai news outside of LOS

 

Like our health..pay now or pay later indirectly.....and the internet is chipping away at thai secrecy

[keith101]

The tourists need to understand that now it is not safe to travel to places like this alone especially for women .

[fangless]

The initial reports said they believed she had been raped and murdered.  The rape element seems to have disappeared even though initial reports said she was semi naked when found!

 

I hope the rape element, if it did happen, has not been dropped for sake of the Island's image.

Edited August 11, 2021 by fangless

[worgeordie]

I don't think the suspect has admitted to everything.

regards Worgeordie

[stevenl]

36 minutes ago, Scrotobike said:

Being poor is NO excuse: but the level of hardship/lack of drug money will mean an increase in crime (maybe not as bad as murder). Another side effect of Covid.

 

Get some bobbies on the beat (sorry if you are not a Brit and cannot understand my English)

"but the level of hardship/lack of drug money will mean an increase in crime"

That's what some are saying and keep saying for years and years now, without this materializing.

[Tropicalevo]

25 minutes ago, keith101 said:

The tourists need to understand that now it is not safe to travel to places like this alone especially for women .

I believe that your comment is an exaggeration.

If Thailand is not safe, then the rest of the world is in a more dangerous place.

One can read of cases where women are raped or sexually assaulted every day in places like the UK.

Why do you pick on Thailand as being not a safe place.

My wife, when she was alive, always felt safe in Thailand for the 15 years that she lived here.

In her home town of Birmingham, she was mugged on two different occasions and she was burgled whilst living in Sydney.

[tonray]

Silly me when I read the headline I assumed private businesses trying to make amends would donate the 200K to the poor lady's family. I should have known better.

[smedly]

12 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

I believe that your comment is an exaggeration.

If Thailand is not safe, then the rest of the world is in a more dangerous place.

One can read of cases where women are raped or sexually assaulted every day in places like the UK.

Why do you pick on Thailand as being not a safe place.

My wife, when she was alive, always felt safe in Thailand for the 15 years that she lived here.

In her home town of Birmingham, she was mugged on two different occasions and she was burgled whilst living in Sydney.

The point is a valid one, I am a reasonably fit male and I am careful about some things I do especially at night,  this woman was alone in a selcluded wooded area with very few people around - I would have felt uneasy doing that too, I might also feel uneasy doing that is some parts of major cities - I would not feel uneasy doing it in my home town in the UK, there have been many reported cases of people in Thainland getting mugged - bag snatches etc and some resulted in death and injury when people resisted or fought back, is Thailand safe - I say there are opportunists here who will pounce if they get the opportunity and would not think twice about using violence and lethal force, unfortunately the UK is recently going in the same direction - we can speculate why - I have my own opinion on that that I will keep to myself

[Psimbo]

If the cops had any decency they would donate the money to the family. Oops- I spot the flaw in that argument.

 

Paid to do their job- Tit!

[kcpattaya]

 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Pol Maj-gen Saksira Pheuak-am thanked the 16 private organisations that donated 200,000 baht

OF COURSE he is thankful! ????

[Scouse123]

See the cops were quick off the mark to claim the reward!

 

If it was an event in the Olympics, the Thai cops would win by a mile!

[ronster]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Pol Maj-gen Saksira Pheuak-am thanked the 16 private organisations that donated 200,000 baht to police investigators and medical personnel for their work on the case. 

So they were doing it for free before ? ????

[sanuk711]

5 hours ago, Scrotobike said:

Being poor is NO excuse: but the level of hardship/lack of drug money will mean an increase in crime (maybe not as bad as murder). Another side effect of Covid.

If one is to believe what is reported that he said scrotobike--- the reason that he attacked her, wasn't about lack of money.

Edited August 11, 2021 by sanuk711

[Mansell]

5 hours ago, smedly said:

The point is a valid one, I am a reasonably fit male and I am careful about some things I do especially at night,  this woman was alone in a selcluded wooded area with very few people around - I would have felt uneasy doing that too, I might also feel uneasy doing that is some parts of major cities - I would not feel uneasy doing it in my home town in the UK, there have been many reported cases of people in Thainland getting mugged - bag snatches etc and some resulted in death and injury when people resisted or fought back, is Thailand safe - I say there are opportunists here who will pounce if they get the opportunity and would not think twice about using violence and lethal force, unfortunately the UK is recently going in the same direction - we can speculate why - I have my own opinion on that that I will keep to myself

I used to hike to there now and again…..but it’s a pretty drab place with not much water. Also used to hike over the hills with some great views most every day to keep in shape. I still wonder who told her to go there. I know I wouldn’t have. I never felt uneasy on all my hikes, and made friends with a judge, and many people would wave to me. I would have suggested she hike to a high viewpoint with a 360 degree view of the island. Wrong place, wrong time.

[vangrop]

Pol Maj-gen Saksira Pheuak-am thanked the 16 private organisations that donated 200,000 baht to police investigators and medical personnel for their work on the case

 

Do we have to assume that this policemen are volunteering? Maybe it was tourist police? When I did my job I never got donations! I got a salary!?

 

[Nip]

2 hours ago, kcpattaya said:

 

OF COURSE he is thankful! ????

In reality brown envelopes are known within the Royal Thai Police Farce as donations. 

[BritManToo]

7 hours ago, keith101 said:

The tourists need to understand that now it is not safe to travel to places like this alone especially for women .

I would like to point out hiking alone in the jungle isn't ever safe for anyone.

At the very minimum you should tell someone where you are going and when you intend to be back.

It's very easy to slip and fall, and hurt an ankle, or just get lost.

Probably as many reports of tourists falling off waterfalls, or getting lost, as being attacked.

[JimmyJ]

I've never heard of Police claiming the reward.

(I never even considered it possible).

[Scott Tracy]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Pol Maj-gen Saksira Pheuak-am thanked the 16 private organisations that donated 200,000 baht to police investigators and medical personnel for their work on the case. 

What the <deleted>?

[Gold Star]

I seem to recall the 200,000 was 'pledged' by the 16 local businesses as a reward to entice someone to come forward with information leading to an arrest. Pledged, meaning IF someone came forward with the right info, the money would then be collected and paid to the informant.

Now it is 'donated' to the police?

 

At first thought, it smells bad. However, I am sure those businesses felt absolutely sick about the murder, and have a very close relationship with the local police and other local personnel that were involved. They realize the benefit of giving a bit of extra support to the low paid responders and police, despite the visuals of putting them in the position of receiving positive considerations in the future.

[Scott Tracy]

7 hours ago, keith101 said:

The tourists need to understand that now it is not safe to travel to places like this alone especially for women .

To places like what? Thailand, United States, UK? Is the assertion that Phuket is not safe for women travelling alone? Comparisons of countries where towns are more or less safe are spurious, but to state that Phuket is unsafe for women travelling a!one is a nonsense and scaremongering.

[Scott Tracy]

3 minutes ago, Gold Star said:

They realize the benefit of giving a bit of extra support to the low paid responders and police, despite the visuals of putting them in the position of receiving positive considerations in the future.

If the police job is so lowly paid, why do people do it...? For the brown envelopes, for the percentage of on the spot fines?

First responders, they volunteer don't they? Not paid? But do it anyway. Is there such a thing as altruism any more? Perhaps if the nation had a proper emergency ambulance service, and first responders were part of that service...and were full time employees...

[beechbum]

200,000 in donations for them to do their jobs...555

[Silencer]

10 hours ago, fangless said:

The initial reports said they believed she had been raped and murdered.  The rape element seems to have disappeared even though initial reports said she was semi naked when found!

 

I hope the rape element, if it did happen, has not been dropped for sake of the Island's image.

Yes, initial reports were that he was "aroused" by her and either attempted, or did, rape her. Was she half-naked or not? The authorities need to address this inconsistency or the questions will remain despite their apparent attempts now to quietly ignore this inconsistency.

[Gold Star]

2 hours ago, Scott Tracy said:

If the police job is so lowly paid, why do people do it...? For the brown envelopes, for the percentage of on the spot fines?

First responders, they volunteer don't they? Not paid? But do it anyway. Is there such a thing as altruism any more? Perhaps if the nation had a proper emergency ambulance service, and first responders were part of that service...and were full time employees...

From my experience, all the first responders that I have had incidents with on a few occasions were all volunteers. Other than fire departments, and hospital's ambulances, many use their own vehicles, fuel, scuba gear, first aid supplies, body recovery tools, climbing gear, radios, etc. There was also never a cost for an ambulance when it was called. They teach each other knowledge and skills, and teach children how to swim and do other safety things like CPR courses, first aid, etc. Fortunately, there is a lot of genuine interest in Thailand to help others in need, without being paid. It would be nice if volunteer foundations such as these received the donations. 

[sapson]

100k for his family, 100k for coffee fund and he does the agreed jail time before a quiet out of the press pardon and release.

 

They would normally struggle to find their boot laces within a week let alone solve a murder in a few days.

 

Superb police work instills such confidence along with the Phuket governors request for locals to stop murdering tourists.

[atpeace]

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I would like to point out hiking alone in the jungle isn't ever safe for anyone.

At the very minimum you should tell someone where you are going and when you intend to be back.

It's very easy to slip and fall, and hurt an ankle, or just get lost.

Probably as many reports of tourists falling off waterfalls, or getting lost, as being attacked.

I do it daily but have been warned by locals that it is not safe.  Just shrugged it off but a few days ago my GF narrowly escaped two young kids on a scooter on a deserted rode.  She was so timid before meeting me and would never be alone on a road like this at dusk.  my fault!  

 

We were both stupid and after giving it more thought it became apparent why the locals warned us.  The drug addicts in this area buy and do drugs in the remote area that borders the resort we are staying at.  999 out of 1000 times on this road no problems but that 1 time if you are female would be terrifying.  I found her on the patio shaking and took her 12 hours before she was normal.