Female Japanese Tourist Robbed And Murdered In Sukhothai

[KeiranSays]

I just saw it on the English news on Thai TV (10:30pm) Terrible.

U know what got me, same as normal, they do not have any respect for the dead. Two motorcycle taxi drivers just wrapped the body in what looked like toilet role and then proceeded to carry her off...(Two bike guys!!!!) where is the corona and the body bag...........Imagine if the family are watching in Japan and saw that!

[stepenwolf1958]

Dreadful dreadful news. She rents a bicycle, goes to a holy temple full of the joys of life...only to be brutally murdered with her throat slashed. The cruelty and horror of it all. These despicable acts are not uncommon now in the LOS, and due in all probabability to Ya Ba...cheap and nasty drug. To lose your life for such a few Baht is unthinkable and must be the work of a madman. Deepest sympathies to her family.

To remind you...money WASN'T taken...founded on her body 3 000Bht...but the passport is missing...strange?Read other postings careful,please...Seem to founded money-it is not so simple case...

[stepenwolf1958]

I just saw it on the English news on Thai TV (10:30pm) Terrible.

U know what got me, same as normal, they do not have any respect for the dead. Two motorcycle taxi drivers just wrapped the body in what looked like toilet role and then proceeded to carry her off...(Two bike guys!!!!) where is the corona and the body bag...........Imagine if the family are watching in Japan and saw that!

Agree.I have noticed that,too...I was wondering is it about Thais belief in reincarnation so they are careless so much about THIS life they have or that is just CARELESS...

[DamianMavis]

In the usa this is daily routine story.

Actually, it's not a daily routine story in the states. Whenever there is serious violence against tourists like this one, it is major news. There is a lot of family violence and other sorts of violence against citizens, but then again, we are not concerned with throw-away, meaningless comments, are we, bangkokdenied? Because if we were, we could easily compare different types of violence and frequencies in a systemic fashion to show that it really isn't all the same. We also have the issue uneven and incomparable crime reports, more accurate statistics (or in the case of Thailand, statistics, period), and honest reporting.

So, your comment is as meaningless and useless as your thinking.

I think his name is quite suitable, DENIAL seems to be what he's all about.

Damian

[bangkokdenied]

Not only it is daily routine in the usa but the medias use it to make millions on the back on the victims.(difficult for some to face the reality).

[brahmburgers]

It sounds like the girl defended herself and might have even hurt the attacker, before she ran a ways away, albeit already knifed. She could have angered the attacker - which compelled him to chase her and do his dastardly act.

I sense she was a spirited and couragous girl. What a sad story. Let's hope they catch the real perpetrator and show no mercy.

[stepenwolf1958]

Every day a few foreigners leave the Kingdom in a casket.

Most died of natural causes and accidents.

Official cause of death is mostly "heart failure".

Even if there's a knife through the heart: It's a heart failure.

Are you serious about this?If this is based on some facts,then...uh-huhhhh...

[stepenwolf1958]

The days of foreigners and farangs being the novelty guests here in Thailand are long gone I'm afraid.

The rot set in a good few years back.

It's a lot colder now and I don't mean the weather either.

Now we're seen more as an lower classed citizen and outsider. This mentality is what drives the bad folk who want our cash and will kill to get it.

I hope this asshol_e gets whats coming to him.

PERFECT observation...Real life made me to think about moto in tour-agencies"Thailand-the land of smile"I was faced with words of Thai HIGHLY ranked woman"If you don't like it-why you don't back to your country"...She works in EDUCATION...So,what else to say?

[stepenwolf1958]

The days of foreigners and farangs being the novelty guests here in Thailand are long gone I'm afraid.

The rot set in a good few years back.

It's a lot colder now and I don't mean the weather either.

Now we're seen more as an lower classed citizen and outsider. This mentality is what drives the bad folk who want our cash and will kill to get it.

I hope this asshol_e gets whats coming to him.

one problem after another,all the kingdom needs coming up to the busiest tourist season ,i think a few more people will stop coming here ,this is one of the worst years for crime since i've been here , and taksins not even in the country ,this poor girl is somebodys daughter ,my heart felt sympathys go out to them .........

THAT'S the point...

[stepenwolf1958]

Japanese tourist murdered in Sukhothai historical park

BANGKOK: -- Loy Krathong is perhaps the most beautiful of Thailand's ancient ceremonies still practised today, but it ended badly for a young Japanese woman in her mid-twenties, found dead near the Sukhothai historical park Sunday.

Tomoko Kawashita, 27, from Osaka, had her neck slashed and was stabbed in her torso with a sharp object. The young woman, who had rented a bicycle to tour the scenic ruins, was found with some 3,000 baht cash (about US$90) but her passport and purse were missing.

Local police began the investigation on the presumption that the victim may have been raped.

Forensic experts expect to take about two weeks for further examination of possible traces of semen and tissues from her assailant from her nails to identify the DNA coordinates of her attacker.

Her body was found in a wooded area near an ancient temple in the Sukhothai historical park, about 400 kilometres north of Bangkok on Sunday afternoon, following the annual Loy Krathong festival, which draws tourists from around the world to Sukhothai.

The Institute of Forensic Medicine at Police General Hospital in Bangkok is supervising the autopsy.

--TNA 2007-11-26

OOHHHH.... possible traces of semen Is this routine in procedure,investigation or we didn;t get ALL details about poor woman?I mean,is this mean they found her clothes off????My God!...

[LaoPo]

Dreadful dreadful news. She rents a bicycle, goes to a holy temple full of the joys of life...only to be brutally murdered with her throat slashed. The cruelty and horror of it all. These despicable acts are not uncommon now in the LOS, and due in all probabability to Ya Ba...cheap and nasty drug. To lose your life for such a few Baht is unthinkable and must be the work of a madman. Deepest sympathies to her family.

To remind you...money WASN'T taken...founded on her body 3 000Bht...but the passport is missing...strange?Read other postings careful,please...Seem to founded money-it is not so simple case...

Better stop guessing and speculating in this murder case. The news is very - VERY - brief.

The story said they found Baht 3.000 on her body and that her passport and wallet were missing. Lots of people, traveling, hide some money on their body.

It could be she WAS robbed (and killed after) but they/he 'missed' the rest of the money, hidden on her body; but like everybody else, I'm just guessing.

LaoPo

[stepenwolf1958]

"This is a priority case because it has damaged the reputation of Sukhothai and the entire country,"

Not because somebody is dead - so that's OK then.

yeah right ! No one is particularly concerned that that a young woman has been slain. ONLY that it has damaged the reputation of Sukhothai (and the whole country)

They will take the tourists money and the rest is unimportant.

It is a very sick society that we are living in here

I am sorry, I too should have said that my condolences go to this young lady's family. What should have been a wonderful experience in her young life was completely taken away by some mindless scum.

May she "rest in peace"

possible traces of semen

Absolutely agree with you...

[stepenwolf1958]

"This is a priority case because it has damaged the reputation of Sukhothai and the entire country,"

Not because somebody is dead - so that's OK then.

yeah right ! No one is particularly concerned that that a young woman has been slain. ONLY that it has damaged the reputation of Sukhothai (and the whole country)

They will take the tourists money and the rest is unimportant.

It is a very sick society that we are living in here

I am sorry, I too should have said that my condolences go to this young lady's family. What should have been a wonderful experience in her young life was completely taken away by some mindless scum.

May she "rest in peace"

It is a very sick society that we are living in here

Absolutely agree with you...

[blizzard]

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

[stepenwolf1958]

The killer probably thought its a Thai woman. What I would really hate in this case would be if the police just gets some random guy again to show that they work efficient. The innocent guy gets executed and that's about it.

I think this is the most ridiculous thing I've ever read ANYWHERE, not just this forum. Thai people immediately recognise a non Thai, especially Japanese that have light skin, bigger noses, dress completely differently.... Foreigners are targetted because THEY CARRY MORE MONEY than a Thai girl, Japanese women are specifically targetted and often for rape and robbery, they are seen as a prize catch by normal Thai men, to predators they are a different kind of prize. Just because you can't tell the difference between Asian races doesnt mean they can't also.

Damian

Yes,you are right...but what about motive for murder?Money,as you noticed,couldn't be.Money was found at her(3 000).So,what could be a reason for this.Nobody here have any comment about possibly motive.It is strange why we all calculating about robery but we saw Police said money was found...We are all in state of shock,that's the true but we should think more about this...This wasn't about the money,it is so clear.Then what could be a reason?

[stepenwolf1958]

The killer probably thought its a Thai woman. What I would really hate in this case would be if the police just gets some random guy again to show that they work efficient. The innocent guy gets executed and that's about it.

I think this is the most ridiculous thing I've ever read ANYWHERE, not just this forum. Thai people immediately recognise a non Thai, especially Japanese that have light skin, bigger noses, dress completely differently.... Foreigners are targetted because THEY CARRY MORE MONEY than a Thai girl, Japanese women are specifically targetted and often for rape and robbery, they are seen as a prize catch by normal Thai men, to predators they are a different kind of prize. Just because you can't tell the difference between Asian races doesnt mean they can't also.

Damian

i'm sure they knew that she's a foreigner. who will rob a thai lady in a bicycle? in a BMW, maybe...

thai_narak

Once again...That was NOT about to rob her money....PASSPORT missing,NOT the money...3 000 Bht she has with her...So why we accepted THAT from official report,so easy?Are we blind folded????

[blizzard]

how u know it wasnt bout munney. tourist dont carry munney only in one place.

maybe attackers got large amount and fled. maybe it was sex crim e which usually means it wasnt about sex.

[tropo]

Of course this is a priority case. This normally means that a hotshot from Bangkok will order that the culprit must be caught within a week or so. As the Thai judicial system is even rotter than that of any other banana republic, it means that they'll catch a sucker without money and without lawyer who will get the jackpot, being life or a death sentence. Who cares?

That happens in the US too. Thailand worse than any other banana republic? Hardly.

[stepenwolf1958]

Hello, In reading all this and other comments about local crime, I did some quick calculations with these results (using 2006 US crime stats). US Nationwide per 100K population; Murder=6, Forcible rape=31, Robberies=150 To raw/total numbers this would be about (for the year) in Thailand National; Murder=3690, Forcible rape=19K, Robberies=92K BKK; Murder=600, Forcible rape=3100, Robberies=15K So, how do these compare with the realities of crimes there? I likewise offer my prayers to the friends & family of this young lady and for those responsable. Comments were made about YaBa. Any excuse/rationalization may be given but to me it comes down to the point that if there is no real hope for the future (either now or in an afterlife) then human life has no value. With no value then who really cares? This encompasses the government concern regarding the embarassment over the action instead of the importance of the loss of a life. Comments are made (on many threads) about everything being about a culture of money. Think about it. What else do they have and therefor why shouldn't they act that way...... Ieyuhrah

Thanks...This your K mean a thousand????IF so-it is MORE worse then i could thought...

[stepenwolf1958]

Dreadful dreadful news. She rents a bicycle, goes to a holy temple full of the joys of life...only to be brutally murdered with her throat slashed. The cruelty and horror of it all. These despicable acts are not uncommon now in the LOS, and due in all probabability to Ya Ba...cheap and nasty drug. To lose your life for such a few Baht is unthinkable and must be the work of a madman. Deepest sympathies to her family.

To remind you...money WASN'T taken...founded on her body 3 000Bht...but the passport is missing...strange?Read other postings careful,please...Seem to founded money-it is not so simple case...

Better stop guessing and speculating in this murder case. The news is very - VERY - brief.

The story said they found Baht 3.000 on her body and that her passport and wallet were missing. Lots of people, traveling, hide some money on their body.

It could be she WAS robbed (and killed after) but they/he 'missed' the rest of the money, hidden on her body; but like everybody else, I'm just guessing.

LaoPo

Well...what else we can do then to GUESSING...as the news are worthless we get ANY clue about what happened REALLY?

Also,the Japanesse news said money was at her POCKET so that mean we are in a good direction about to thinking was it robbery at all...Especially because JUST a passport is missing?Why passport?Who would care it?Or may be she left the passport in renting office???I doubt so...

[stepenwolf1958]

how u know it wasnt bout munney. tourist dont carry munney only in one place.

maybe attackers got large amount and fled. maybe it was sex crim e which usually means it wasnt about sex.

You have here A PHOTO of the body,crime scene-thanks to Srirracha John so look at it please...it wasn't sex crime...Also...That one who was looking for the money,to rob her,would check her pockets too,that's common acting in robbery,and read the news from Japanese newspapers money was in her POCKET...It is so normal...But to me,main thing is missing PASSPORT...Regardings...

[JustAnotherFarang]

Whatever happened to the days when we paid our respects quietly and with humility.

JAF

[Tony Clifton]

One more year max and all three of us are out of here for good.

If someone kept count of all these articles, be it murders, suspicious deaths or traffic deaths

Almost had a fight in Sri Racha last week when some Neanderthal couldn't wait 3 seconds for my pregnant wife and I to walk past the shopping mall's security guard. He just barged in with his truck and nearly ripped my shoulder off with his side mirror.

My first reaction was to hit his "temple on wheels" with the cushion of my fist, not hard enough to leave a mark but he heard it.

His first reaction? Stuck his body out the truck's window. "Did you see? He hit my truck!" even trying to convince my wife that I threw myself onto his mirror

I watched The Killing Fields a while ago and it reminded me there is a very fine line in this whole area between life and death. Examples like Tak Bai, Thaksin goons kicking the sh!t out of old men, policeman chopping a girl's arm off, policeman carrying immigrants in the trunk of his car, Russian girls shot in Pattaya, plastic bags over the head (like The Killing Fields), Japanese tourist sholt multiple times while on the Motorway, the road madness, and on and on...

This is definitely not a place where I want my family to spend the rest of their precious lives and my Thai wife feels the same.

Edited November 26, 2007 by Tony Clifton

[sriracha john]

Japanese woman slain in Sukhothai

A Japanese tourist has been found murdered in Sukhothai province, where she was visiting a Loy Krathong festival over the weekend.

Tomoko Kawashita, 27, was found dead at around 1pm on Sunday in a small jungle near Wat Saphan Hin. She was last seen at 7am on Sunday while renting a bicycle from a shop in Muang Kao urban area.

Her body had three stab wounds to the neck and one to the waist. Pol Colonel Somboon Tantrakool, a forensic expert, said there was evidence indicating "signs of sexual violation" but it would take another week for lab tests to confirm them.

Quoting witnesses, police said Kawashita checked into a guesthouse at around 10pm after arriving in the northern province at about 6pm on Saturday to join the festival at Sukhothai Historical Park.

Kawashita returned to the guesthouse at around 2am to move her luggage to an unknown location. She was seen next at 7am renting a bicycle from a shop known as "Rerng Phoolpherm".

Police questioned a group of six Thai male high school students seen with Kawashita while they were all entering the Park on Saturday evening. The questioning continued throughout Sunday night and the students were allowed to go home when police said they were not suspects.

Police later obtained video clips shot with the students' mobile-phone handsets to try to find clues to the murderer, but admitted it was difficult as many thousands of people had visited the site.

A police source, quoting private security personnel, said no vehicles or motorcycles had entered the Park, indicating the murderer could be a local, who possibly killed her between 9am and 10.30am on Sunday.

The site where Kawashita's body was found was an isolated spot, indicating the murderer could have been waiting in an ambush to rob her, or to rob and rape her, said the source.

Kom Chad Luek newspaper said Kawashita had about Bt3,000 in her pocket when her body was found. There is no immediate information about whether her camera she carried was found with the body.

Kawashita's body is now at the Police General Hospital for a detailed autopsy.

Sukhothai Police chief Maj-General Sirin Phadungchewit ordered a manhunt in the area.

"This is a priority case because it has damaged the reputation of Sukhothai and the entire country," he said.

- The Nation

[GB99]

My condolences go to the lady's family. Rest in peace.

[Foggy Bottom]

Condolences to the victim's family and hopes for a peaceful hereafter to the victim

The standard of reporting in the news clippings was set by the statement that Sukhothai was Thailand's capital for a period....

Sukhothai was NEVER the capital of Thailand

- Thailand did not exist until 1938/39. Sukhothai was dysfunctional and absorbed into the Kingdom of Ayutthaya by the late-1300s AD much to the chagrine of the Kingdom of LanNa, which fought several wars with Ayutthaya trying to recover territory that LanNa considered to be theirs.

Ayutthaya too, was never the capital of Thailand, or even of all the territory now within Thailand - it was sacked and completely destroyed by the Burmese in the late 18th Century AD, and even at its peak, several major regions of current Thailand were never under its dominion.

Siam was a generic name for a region of kingdoms and principalities, formalised as a country name after the founding of Krung Thep in the Taksin / Chakri (Rama 1) period, due to the adoption of the name (by foreign emmisaries) as representing the new country around that time. Originally it was a Chinese-given name (Syam) for the Shan west of Nanchao, in what is now Yunnan province.

I agree with the poster above who stated that robbery of money cannot be ruled out simply because 3000 Baht was found on her body.

It may have been emergency money concealed in an inner pocket, or in her underwear, whilst her day's budget of spending money was probably in her purse or bag (notice there's no report of one being found), most likely together with her passport and camera (also an item not mentioned, and when did a Japanese tourist ever go anywhere without at least one camera?). Other items not mentioned - a cell phone, again - a 27-year-old Japanese tourist without a cell phone? Jewellery and watch were not mentioned. Presumably none of these not-mentioned items were found at the scene?

I feel sorry for this grown woman (27-year-old is not a young girl) who was presumably lured into a sense of false security by the juxtaposition of being in a World Heritage Site during one of the most important cultural festivals of the Thai calendar. I also feel for other guests at her guest house who must also be in shock that someone they were sharing accomodation with, died so suddenly and violently. There are shades of similarity with the New Year's day, beach murder on Samui last year. And unfortunately, with many similar incidents over the years.

This evening, I was told by two early-20's western women that they had cancelled their planned camping trip on Doi Pui (Chiangmai) because after they had arrived there today, they were approached by 4 Thai men and felt very threatened and alarmed even though those 4 did nothing overtly threatening. They were the only people at the campsite - no wardens, patrols, or guards. The two women wisely chose to abandon the trip and returned to town.

Many years ago, when taking a train from Hualampong, the station staff would pass leaflets out to all foreigners on the trains. Those leaflets (in several languages including English) warned of the dangers of travelling in Thailand, including that thieves would reach in through open windows at stations and snatch watches from peoples wrists and so forth. Sadly, I've not seen the leaflets being passed out since December 1999 (the last time I got one, which I still have somewhere in my box of bits for making scrapbooks in my dotage).

And that leads me to ask ..... whatever happened to the plan to issue all arriving air passengers with "do's and don'ts" leaflets and cultural guides? Surely such a program with added personal safety tips should be implemented - comprehensively and persistently? The Kingdom might get less bad press like this weekend's news, if it was..... assuming overconfident and over-euphoric tourists took the time to read them, and digest the contents.

Gaz

[marioDC]

First of all, my condolences to the family and all those involved.

Secondly, i personnaly don't think that Thailand is that much worse then any other, even western, country when it comes to crimes and law.

For instance : in Belgium it's better to rape a child or brutaly batter and murder an old man for fun then to darken money from the government.

The last crime puts you effectively in jail for months or even years, for the first 2 you get off with a warning not to do this again and 2 years on probation.

I see here that the majority of the people making a big fuzz about the way the thai justice system works, are the ones who actually live there too.

All i want to say is : nobody makes you stay there, you can always leave and go back home. Didn't you investigate and read a little bit about the country before you decided to go live there ?

[sweetchariot]

Japanese woman found fatally slashed in northern Thailand

BANGKOK -- A woman believed to be a Japanese national has been found fatally slashed on the neck at a World Heritage site in northern Thailand, local police said.

She was carrying an ID card of Tomoko Kawashita, 27, issued by an elephant trainer school, as well as about 3,000 baht, or approximately 10,000 yen. However, her passport has not been found.

Local police have transported the body to Bangkok, and are trying to confirm her identity.

The woman was found lying on the ground at Sukhothai Historical Park in northern Thailand, which has been designated as a World Heritage site, on Sunday afternoon, bleeding from her neck.

She had an air ticket from Luang Prabang, a World Heritage site in Laos, leading investigators to suspect that she was a tourist visiting World Heritage sites.

- Mainichi Daily News (Japan)

Glad to see they have the top men on the case.

My condolences of course to the family.

Edited November 26, 2007 by sweetchariot

[qualtrough]

I see here several quotes saying the Japanese are targeted. Well knowing how the Thais can bear a grudge, eg Burma. Could it be wartme thing. My boss (wife) tells me they still remember when the Burmese invaded.

The Thais were allies of the Japanese during WWII. There is still some fondness for that period among some of those who remember that period. The perpetrators of this crime probably couldn't even tell you what WWII was, so I seriously doubt that this factor had anything to do with it. More likely seen as good target--wealthy, weak, alone, and in unfamiliar territory. Very sad.

[qualtrough]

My deepest sympathies to the friends and family.

Incidently, does anyone know anything about her? Was she traveling alone or was she in the country with friends?

AS FAR AS I KNOW-you will NEVER find details as you said...Should to be NORMAL to publish that kind of details but they NEVER do it...NEVER...

What in the world are you talking about? Do you read the Thai papers? They will probably all the details, even those you don't want to hear, like the underwear she was wearing.