Female Japanese Tourist Robbed And Murdered In Sukhothai

[sriracha john]

UPDATE

JAPANESE WOMAN'S SLAYING

Video yields new clues in tourist murder

Police have obtained video footage which shows a young man near the spot where a Japanese woman was murdered in Sukhothai during the Loy Krathong festival last year. A combined team of investigators from Sukhothai police, the Crime Suppression Division and tourism police were to re-examine the crime scene in Sukhothai where Tomoko Kawashita was murdered on Nov 25. The Japanese Embassy in Thailand has handed police a seven-minute video and suggested it may provide a clue to the murderer. The video was recorded by a member of a Japanese tour group who visited Wat Saphan Hin in Sukhothai Historical Park, where Kawashita's body was found. The footage shows a male teenager standing near a motorcycle parked near the entrance of the temple. It was taken about 9.30am on the same day as the body of the victim was found, at 11am. Pol Maj-Gen Panya Mamen yesterday ordered the CSD to send police to question witnesses and track down the teenager. A source said the video footage was fresh evidence which may help investigators narrow down their hunt for the killer. The investigators had not known there was a motorcycle and a male teenager there before. Police yesterday handed out pictures of the victim's missing belongings to members of the public in Sukhothai and nearby provinces in an effort to dig up some clues. The items included

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/25Jan2008_news12.php

[kat]

I'm glad to see this hasn't been forgotten or brushed aside. Let's see how it turns out.

[LaoPo]

Thanks for the update SJ !

Let's hope the video footage will help in the investigation.

LaoPo

[Tony Clifton]

So the Japanese Masao Ito isn't the man the men in brown were looking for after all.

[BigSnake]

Any update on this case??

[LaoPo]

So the Japanese Masao Ito isn't the man the men in brown were looking for after all.

Well, the footage below, doesn't prove much I suppose; so I think everything is possible.

The 'teenager' could have been the killer.....or not.

"The footage shows a male teenager standing near a motorcycle parked near the entrance of the temple. It was taken about 9.30am on the same day as the body of the victim was found, at 11am."

LaoPo

[Tony Clifton]

Masao Ito is not a teenager and had rented a bicycle, not a motorcycle.

A whole month has now gone by.

What was done locally until Japanese authorities came up today with a video ? Not much I'm afraid.

Edited January 25, 2008 by Tony Clifton

[francoismichel]

its not a good thing a tourist got murdered. but japanese tourist are targeted for crime a lot in hawaii, every so often one gets killed, always a gurl.

what puzzles me is how is thailands reputation is tarnished. does it have a pristine reputation now in the worlds eyes.

[francoismichel]

Published in www.hdrjapan.com/japan/japan-news :

At the attention of Mr. Nobutaka Machimura:

A photo of Tomoko, please!

written by francois , January 30, 2008

Last year, in december 2006, I met in Luang Prabang a young woman from japan, in the name of Tomoko Kawashita, 26, from Osaka. We were in the same guest house. She was very nice, very pretty and gentle. I liked her very much. Please, don't tell me that she is the same murdered person. Can anybody provide a photo of the murdered?

Thank you in advance.

Francois.

[LaoPo]

Published in www.hdrjapan.com/japan/japan-news :

At the attention of Mr. Nobutaka Machimura:

A photo of Tomoko, please!

written by francois , January 30, 2008

Last year, in december 2006, I met in Luang Prabang a young woman from japan, in the name of Tomoko Kawashita, 26, from Osaka. We were in the same guest house. She was very nice, very pretty and gentle. I liked her very much. Please, don't tell me that she is the same murdered person. Can anybody provide a photo of the murdered?

Thank you in advance.

Francois.

Francois, I'm afraid there is a substantial chance it is indeed the same girl, Tomoko Kawashita (27). There are photos of her in posts #120 and 248 amongst others. There is also a private blog of her (in local Japanese dialect) on another page but can't recall which page it was.

I am so sorry !

LaoPo

[Nordlys]

I'm not so sure about that. Tomoko is indeed from Osaka (although originally from Oita prefecture) and she did go to Laos and to Luang Prabang too last year and it might well have been her 2nd visit to SEA but everything I read in her blog indicated to me she was in this part of the world for the first time when she was murdered.

BTW is there any relevance to the link you provided to Tomoko Kawashita Francois?

[LaoPo]

I'm not so sure about that. Tomoko is indeed from Osaka (although originally from Oita prefecture) and she did go to Laos and to Luang Prabang too last year and it might well have been her 2nd visit to SEA but everything I read in her blog indicated to me she was in this part of the world for the first time when she was murdered.

BTW is there any relevance to the link you provided to Tomoko Kawashita Francois?

Of course I hope you're correct. Is the name (and combination with age) so common it could have been another girl ?

LaoPo

[francoismichel]

I'm not so sure about that. Tomoko is indeed from Osaka (although originally from Oita prefecture) and she did go to Laos and to Luang Prabang too last year and it might well have been her 2nd visit to SEA but everything I read in her blog indicated to me she was in this part of the world for the first time when she was murdered.

BTW is there any relevance to the link you provided to Tomoko Kawashita Francois?

Of course I hope you're correct. Is the name (and combination with age) so common it could have been another girl ?

LaoPo

Thank you for your answer, LaoPo.

According to the pictures from posts 120, 127 and 248, the murdered person doesn't seem to be the Tomoko Kawashita that I met last year in Luang Prabang. May I suppose that Tomoko and Kawashita are commons names in Japan, because the coincidences -same name, same age, same cities- is huge.

Francois.

ChiangMai.

[LaoPo]

I'm not so sure about that. Tomoko is indeed from Osaka (although originally from Oita prefecture) and she did go to Laos and to Luang Prabang too last year and it might well have been her 2nd visit to SEA but everything I read in her blog indicated to me she was in this part of the world for the first time when she was murdered.

BTW is there any relevance to the link you provided to Tomoko Kawashita Francois?

Of course I hope you're correct. Is the name (and combination with age) so common it could have been another girl ?

LaoPo

Thank you for your answer, LaoPo.

According to the pictures from posts 120, 127 and 248, the murdered person doesn't seem to be the Tomoko Kawashita that I met last year in Luang Prabang. May I suppose that Tomoko and Kawashita are commons names in Japan, because the coincidences -same name, same age, same cities- is huge.

Francois.

ChiangMai.

I hope you're right and it is NOT the same girl. Why don't you contact your Tomoko Kawashita ?

LaoPo

[sriracha john]

An article dealing with a different case, but with a strange, previously unknown, reference to this case and thread at the end of it...

Japanese men arrested in crime against countryman

BANGKOK – Two Japanese nationals were arrested at an apartment house in the Chong Nonsri area of central Bangkok on charges of stealing money and belongings from a fellow countryman last month, police said on Friday.

The men suspected of theft, identified as Kosa Taszukasa and Shida Toshifumi, were arrested by a raid unit of the First Provincial Police. Police were seeking another Japanese national, identified as Koiji Oki and a Filipino woman named Quittay, alias Joy, who were yet to be arrested as accomplices of the detained suspects.

The alleged gangsters were accused of conspiring to steal 720,000 yen in cash and a camera valued at some 35,000 yen from their Japanese victim, identified as Tanikuchi Kazumi, at a hotel in Ayutthaya province.

In the hotel room, the Japanese gangsters allegedly inebriated Mr. Kazumi, whom they had lured through the internet to come to Thailand, before they stripped the unconscious victim of his money.

The detained suspects confessed to the theft charges and were also charged with illegal entry into Thailand. Police were investigating whether or not the suspects might be connected with a Yakuza gang linked to the killing of a Japanese woman tourist during Loy Krathong last year in Sukhothai province.

- TNA

Edited February 16, 2008 by sriracha john

[sbk]

Yes, I saw that in the news article George posted in the Bangkok Forum.

Japanese Men Arrested In Crime Against Countryman

[Frotting]

the point is this happens everywhere , it aint such a big deal like it happens only in thailand.

Yes, but this is a Forum about Thailand, if I'm not mistaken..... and if you read the other threads, this is now the 3rd reported death by violent crime since January (to my knowledge) aand given that Thailand has circa 60 Million population......I know of two other deaths recently (Thais) that were never reported, and I know for a fact the murderer's walked free - after some coffee money to the local police of course.

I think the point everybody is trying to make here, is that in Places like the Staes, UK, etc, we have police forces that really do try and find the right culprit and bring them to justice. I would like to believe in Eurpor and the West we really care about the value and sanctity of human life - though crimes are committed there, for the most part murders (in the UK at least) are part of organised crime and generally don't target innocent people. There are acceptions, so no need to correct me about the brazilian shot by the police.

What we've seen over the last couple of months, i.e. murders of tourists or expats living in Thailand, is both an indication of the value the average Thai places on human life, and what is also evident, is that Thais are unable to make a connection between cause and effect. Let me give you an example. The case of Dale the Canadian shot by his wife/wife's boyfriend/gunman. Within hours the police had all three. Did they really think they would get away with it? It probably never even occurred to them they would get caught, and even if it did, getting caught was too far off in the future to need to worry about. You see the mind set?

The bottom line is, a thai will commit a disgusting act of violence, for very little gain, and not consider the consequences of his action. Since he places so little valu on his own life, then the lives of others are also of minimal importance. The problem we have is that it is a sick society with little hope of getting better. It's down to education and about teaching what's right and what's wrong. What kind of chance do you think there is of educating the Thai nation, when we see how the government/s behave and how people who should be role-models continually fail to set example.

The only thing remains is for the rest of the civilised world to turn their backs on this country, but we know that is not about to happen. I agree with 'KAT' above about the abuse of women, but this is an 'Asian' thing in general, and part of a far bigger picture - sad as it is.

[hughben]

Are there any updates on this case?

[john b good]

the point is this happens everywhere , it aint such a big deal like it happens only in thailand.

Yes, but this is a Forum about Thailand, if I'm not mistaken..... and if you read the other threads, this is now the 3rd reported death by violent crime since January (to my knowledge) aand given that Thailand has circa 60 Million population......I know of two other deaths recently (Thais) that were never reported, and I know for a fact the murderer's walked free - after some coffee money to the local police of course.

I think the point everybody is trying to make here, is that in Places like the Staes, UK, etc, we have police forces that really do try and find the right culprit and bring them to justice. I would like to believe in Eurpor and the West we really care about the value and sanctity of human life - though crimes are committed there, for the most part murders (in the UK at least) are part of organised crime and generally don't target innocent people. There are acceptions, so no need to correct me about the brazilian shot by the police.

What we've seen over the last couple of months, i.e. murders of tourists or expats living in Thailand, is both an indication of the value the average Thai places on human life, and what is also evident, is that Thais are unable to make a connection between cause and effect. Let me give you an example. The case of Dale the Canadian shot by his wife/wife's boyfriend/gunman. Within hours the police had all three. Did they really think they would get away with it? It probably never even occurred to them they would get caught, and even if it did, getting caught was too far off in the future to need to worry about. You see the mind set?

The bottom line is, a thai will commit a disgusting act of violence, for very little gain, and not consider the consequences of his action. Since he places so little valu on his own life, then the lives of others are also of minimal importance. The problem we have is that it is a sick society with little hope of getting better. It's down to education and about teaching what's right and what's wrong. What kind of chance do you think there is of educating the Thai nation, when we see how the government/s behave and how people who should be role-models continually fail to set example.

The only thing remains is for the rest of the civilised world to turn their backs on this country, but we know that is not about to happen. I agree with 'KAT' above about the abuse of women, but this is an 'Asian' thing in general, and part of a far bigger picture - sad as it is.

coffee money to the local police of course.

I think the point everybody is trying to make here, is that in Places like the Staes, UK, etc, we have police forces that really do try and find the right culprit and bring them to justice. I would like to believe in Eurpor and the West we really care about the value and sanctity of human life - though crimes are committed there, for the most part murders (in the UK at least) are part of organised crime and generally don't target innocent people. There are acceptions, so no need to correct me about the brazilian shot by the police.

What we've seen over the last couple of months, i.e. murders of tourists or expats living in Thailand, is both an indication of the value the average Thai places on human life, and what is also evident, is that Thais are unable to make a connection between cause and effect. Let me give you an example. The case of Dale the Canadian shot by his wife/wife's boyfriend/gunman. Within hours the police had all three. Did they really think they would get away with it? It probably never even occurred to them they would get caught, and even if it did, getting caught was too far off in the future to need to worry about. You see the mind set?

"The bottom line is, a thai will commit a disgusting act of violence, for very little gain, and not consider the consequences of his action. Since he places so little valu on his own life, then the lives of others are also of minimal importance. The problem we have is that it is a sick society with little hope of getting better. It's down to education and about teaching what's right and what's wrong. What kind of chance do you think there is of educating the Thai nation, when we see how the government/s behave and how people who should be role-models continually fail to set example"

Mr. (Mrs., Miss., Ms.) Frotting You have hit the nail smack dead centre on the head. I couldn't have done better (said it any clearer) myself.

And the sad thing is it ain't gonna get better any time real soon. WHY ? Because they don't even perceive that they have a problem. It's always someone else.

It's not only that life is considered to be very cheap in the realm but also honesty is a rare commodity.

Don't ask me what happened, ask me what you want to hear.

[Tony Clifton]

I guess the boys in brown are still working round the clock on this one...