Swedish Woman Found Dead On Thai Beach

[taxexile]

By Gregers Moller scandasia

A Swedish woman was Saturday 15 March around noon found stabbed to death on Mai Khao beach on Phuket only 300 meters from Mai Khao Beach Bungalow, where she was staying with her friend. Thai media reports identify the murdered woman as Hanna Charlotta Backlund, 27, and her friend as Emma Storman, 30.

The two had been staying at the bungalow since 6 March and especially Hanna Charlotta had enjoyed going for walks along the beach, which the police says is quite deserted.

According to a police briefing of the Thai media, Hanna and Emma had on Saturday morning been sitting at the bar of the bungalow when Hanna Charlotta had invited Emma for a walk. But Emma had said she would rather read her book. When she had been reading for about one and a half hour and Hanna had not yet returned, she started getting worried. She then went looking for Hanna Charlotte and found her only 300 meters down the beach.

Hanna Charlotta was wearing her two piece bikini, black top and blue botttom. She had a stab wound to the left side of her body and a slash accross her thoat. A knife wound accros her palm inside her hand indicated a struggle. There was a lot of blood on the sand.

Police suspects that several persons were involved in the attack on Hanna Charlottaa. The purpose had likely been to rape her and not to rob her because she was wearing no valuables and the string on her bikini top had been untied.

The body of Hanna Charlotta is currently at the Thalang Hospital for autopsy and according to the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, her friend Emma is being treated for trauma at a hospital in Phuket.

Created 2008-03-16

[burman]

I'm not familiar with this particular beach, but surely at that time of the day there would have been other people there, a fair few witnesses you would imagine?

[Yatsam]

I'm very sorry to hear this news, and my condolences to her family and friends. This is very frightening, because it seems that it may have happened in the morning in broad daylight.

I totally agree with you. It's such a scary news. I have some farang friends staying in Phuket. They must be frightened for this news

[simon43]

I'm sorry that I just read this news. I was upcountry in Issan.

The beach in question - Mai Khao, is very long and apart from recent building works near to the airport, is very quiet, even in the daytime. I have recent photos taken at 2pm in high season which show absolutely no-one as far as the eye can see.

I sometimes see people camping near to the airport end of the beach, and I have wondered about the safety of this. Many of the local youths go down to this beach at night to drink, leaving piles of empty beer and whisky bottles. If the photo of the deckchairs is relevant, then these must surely be deckchairs provided by her hotel/guesthouse, since there are no deckchairs on Mai Khao beach, (because there

are very few tourists because of the dangerous currents in the sea).

Also, just to comment that the location of Mai Khao Beach Bungalows is very remote, with no mains electricity etc

My condolences to the family of this poor woman.

Simon

Edited March 16, 2008 by simon43

[george]

For what it's worth, all major Swedish newspapers reports that they stayed on the beach in a rented tent.

[Nysan]

Some papers also say that the police suspects that a group of 3-4 men tried to rape her.

[sbk]

So, the Thai newspaper got it wrong and she wasn't staying at a resort? Or was she staying in a tent at the resort? And do the Swedish papers also claim she was involved with a Thai man?

Regardless, going for a walk on a beach in the middle of the day is hardly risk-taking behavior. Unless, of course, that report is also wrong and she was walking alone on a quiet beach in the middle of the night?

Can anyone clarify what the Swedish papers are saying, since it appears the ScandAsia report as posted above is not the same as the reports the Swedish papers are making?

[PoorSucker]

Swedish newspapers report that the stayed on the resorts premises.

They stayed in a rented tent.

Nothing about involved with a Thai man

Picture of the resort, the owner Mr Sawat at the tent, and the part of the beach where the murder took place.

Edited March 16, 2008 by PoorSucker

[Nysan]

I make some notes from this page ie not all text from the page. Just beaware that expressen is the swedish verision of UK´s the sun...: http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/1.1087001/...gs-for-sitt-liv

"She fought for her life". She was a student but had no courses at the moment so she travelled to Phuket with her childhood friend. They stayed at Mai Khao Beach Bungalows where you can chose if you want to stay in bungalow or rent a tent. They picked the later option. Yesterday morning the victim wanted to workout and take a dipp into the sea. Her friend stayed in the tent and read a book.

Policeintendent Somkid Khaosang said that "-The woman have several cut and stab wounds. We are just in the process to investigate if she were mugged or if it were a sexual assult."

But his boss Sakchai Limcharoen is convinced that ia was sexual assult -"We belive that someone have tried to rape her. We belive that she was attacked by 3-4 people".

This is the local paper the she hailed from. You can see a picture of her and the paper say that 3 or 4 people are sought after for this crime. http://vk.se/

[sbk]

Thai police say Swedish tourist was murdered while walking along a Phuket beach

The Associated Press

Published: March 16, 2008

BANGKOK, Thailand: Police investigating the murder of a Swedish tourist in Thailand said Sunday the woman was taking a walk on the beach when she was attacked and stabbed in the neck.

The woman, identified as 27-year-old Hanna Charlotta Backlund, was found dead Saturday on the island of Phuket, one of Thailand's most popular tourist destinations.

Police Lt. Gen. Sakchai Limcharoen said the woman and a friend were camping out in a tent on the grounds of a hotel on Mai Khao beach, on the northern tip of Phuket.

On Saturday afternoon, Backlund asked her travel companion to join her for a walk on the beach but the friend stayed back at the hotel, Sakchai said. When Backlund failed to return, the friend went looking for her and found her body in the sand.

Initial investigations indicate that she was followed from her hotel and attacked.

"She fought back," Sakchai said. "The attacker or attackers stabbed her."

Backlund was stabbed in the neck, and had apparent knife wounds on her body and her left hand, Sakchai said.

Police said they feared any clues left in the sand had been washed away by waves.

The Swedish Embassy was closed for the weekend and could not immediately be reached for comment.

Swedish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tobias Nilsson confirmed Backlund's identity but declined to discuss other details.

Source: AP

[sbk]

Thank you for the Swedish translations, Poor Sucker and Nysan.

[george]

Hanna Backlund was found here on the beach.

The police are hunting three to four suspects.

Photo/source: vk.se

[dezy1801]

Very sad news sorry for this young life so brutally taken by yet another beast.

This seems to be a growning trend in Thailand for young Farang women to be getting murdered on the beach, how many more before the authorites take some action in these areas.

[thaigene2]

Can we get back on track? Please don't blame the victim - it is in really bad taste. There may well be naivete involved, and it probablty isn't a good idea to tent on a beach in an area away from the main tourist areas of Phuket (e.g. away from where most people are), but we all do ill-advised things from time to time. She was attacked and murdered. That's the focus here..

[Felt 35]

Foreign friend of me living near the Mai Khao Beach tell that a Thai friend of him had seen four Thai men in the actual area at the time. Police has questioned him the last 24 hours.

[chiang mai]

Can we get back on track? Please don't blame the victim - it is in really bad taste. There may well be naivete involved, and it probablty isn't a good idea to tent on a beach in an area away from the main tourist areas of Phuket (e.g. away from where most people are), but we all do ill-advised things from time to time. She was attacked and murdered. That's the focus here..

In no way shape or form do I blame the victim since I have no access to the details or the facts of this matter. I was merely responding to a posters views that I believe are totally out of context with the environment here.

[Scott]

My very deepest sympathies to the family and friends. It is terrible to experience such a traumatic loss of a loved one.

[JetsetBkk]

I'm not familiar with this particular beach, but surely at that time of the day there would have been other people there, a fair few witnesses you would imagine?

It is usually deserted.

To be fair, she was attacked midday walking on a beach in one of most popular tourist areas in the country. She should have been by all rights, in a safe environment.

This beach is not a popular tourist area. It is a beautiful beach, although the sand is a little sharp and can hurt the feet, but it is a long way from Phuket Town and the more popular beaches like Surin, Kamala, Patong, Karon, and Kata.

Here is a picture I took some time ago from the north that gives an idea of how deserted it is. There were two people on the beach that I could see:

[burman]

^ Thanks, Simon43 said the same thing, often deserted midday even the high season.

[britmaveric]

^^Certainly puts things in perspective - I think even as a lad I would be lil concerned about safety on a secluded beach as shown above. Shame about the swedish bird, but honestly not surprised. Let's hope they catch her killers and soon.

[LaoPo]

... But certainly rape against men or women is not treated in Thailand with the same sense of seriousness that it is treated in the western countries.

And a far more common story for me other than the police story is to hear is an employer demanding sex as part of the job description. One of my best friend's daughter, from a poor minority farming family, took a job in a factory in Chiang Mai and was raped by her employer, became pregnant, and took her own life in shame. No charges were brought against the rapist.

How sad for the girl and family involved......Thailand is still far away from normal democratic justice...

LaoPo

[brahmburgers]

Actually Phuket had some of the best criminal investigations bureau people in the country...or at least they did. Don't know what has happened since the new regime took over.

Perhaps Phuket investigators are 'some of the best', but that's not much of a boast. That's like saying a snail moves faster than a rock. The overall standard of Thai detective work is pretty close to abysmal - from what I've seen and heard.

RIP lady, you sound like a fighter to me, I admire that.

[geriatrickid]

Please provide the numbers with which you make this claim. I'll settle for the five year change. In the interim you might want to read Post #25

You can check: http://www.saenyim.com/MaxSecCrimeTrendsInThailand.htm for an article from The nation last year.

The site sells security systems. Obviously, it will say there is a need for its services. One reprint of an unrelated article hardly provides much of a foundation with which to review the likelihood of rape. Post 25 reviewed the US-DOS record of non-natural deaths in Thailand.

Icemaniac sums it up best in her/his post. Reading a couple other posts it seems like the victim is being blamed. Well, at least now we have an illustration of why some women do not come forward after they have been assaulted. I'm sorry, but like alot of other people that posted I don't care even if someone is in swimwear at a beach, the argument that someone would have been morally corrupted by that to go and violate the woman's basic human rights is just bunk. Places that think like that have women walk around buried under veils and fabric. Surely, our society has advanced more than this?

[pliny]

In view of the reported circumstances so far one could deduce that this was an opportunist attack and probably committed by a Thai since the victim was dispatched by a knife.

The timing of the crime is unusual and suggests that the perpetrator(s) may have been in the vicinity for quite a while and given the nature of the attack one could reasonably suspect they were probably intoxicated either by drink or drugs.

The venue has been described as remote, in Phuket terms, and so it shouldn't be too difficult to ascertain if such a group had been sighted by other locals.

Admittedly, there is a tendency for the police to make the person fit the crime for expediency sake but a quick resolution could reasonably be expected.

How the poor girl may have disported herself is, I would suggest, not an issue and hardly an excuse for espousing conflicting arguments upon cultural mores. She was walking alone on a deserted beach at a respectable hour enjoying a quiet moment on an island portrayed around the world as a desirable and safe location but was killed. That is her epitaph.

Edited March 16, 2008 by pliny

[sbk]

Memorial for Ms. Hanna Backlund

Saturday, March 22 , 10:30 AM

A Vigil against Violence

To be held at the site of her passing on north Mai Khao Beach, Phuket

Bright pink signs to be placed, directing the way.

"To do nothing is no longer an alternative."

Further info, ***email removed per forum rules*** Please PM the poster: MustaphaMond for more information