Two Thai Men Confess To Killing Aussie Michelle Smith For '300 Baht'

[Lite Beer]

Phuket killer: ‘I just wanted the money’

Phuket Gazette –

The two suspects, who confessed to the stabbing, were surrounded by police for protection at the re-enactment of the crime in Phuket this morning. Photo: Orawin Narabal

Surasak Suwannachote demonstrates for police how the knife was used in the attack near Phuket's Kata Beach. Photo: Orawin Narabal

PHUKET: Surasak Suwannachote, the man who earlier today in front of about 50 media personnel confessed to stabbing Australian travel agent Michelle Smith, told the press conference that he had no idea what he was going to spend the money on.

“I just wanted to steal the money. I had no idea what I was going to do with it,” Surasak told the press.

“I didn’t even want to stab the woman [Mrs Smith], I just wanted to cut the strap to the bag. I didn’t know she was going to die. I saw her walking away,” he said.

Surasak told the press that at the time of his arrest, which he did not elaborate on, his conscience was already playing on him.

“I saw on the news that the woman died. I am sorry for what happened. When the police arrested me I was already considering handing myself in,” he said.

Surin Thatthong, who drove the motorbike used in the attack, remained silent throughout most of press conference this morning.

In one of the rare moments that he broke his silence, he said, “I’m sorry.”

Additional reporting by Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/archives/articles/2012/article16271.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-06-26

[Whidbeyboy]

Never heard of cops dividing up reward money for doing thier job. That would not pass where I'm from. It would go into the next pot for the next crook or go to the family at the very least. I don't care if they did solve it. IT IS THIER JOB!

Shows a lack of integrity and a lack of morality. Plain and simple.

[khunken]

No mention of the survivor confirming the identities of the 2 caught by the police. Anyone know if she is still in Phuket or has gone home?

I'll believe that the 2 are the real culprits when there is some proof & this article doesn't prove anything.

[Whidbeyboy]

Never heard of cops dividing up reward money for doing thier job. That would not pass where I'm from. It would go into the next pot for the next crook or go to the family at the very least. I don't care if they did solve it. IT IS THIER JOB!

Shows a lack of integrity and a lack of morality. Plain and simple.

You see thier is a thing called a conflict of interest going on here. Will they wait next time for a bigger reward? Will they only go after cases that have rewards as a priority? Do they end up creating crimes that then offer big rewards only to bust innocent people? YOU CAN NOT expect cops to stay on the straight and narrow when this type of incentive is offered, it is just WRONG!

[fullcave]

They say they didn't mean to kill her. Bullsh#t. You carry a knife and use it in a robbery, then you know someone could die. Scum.

Seems the defense would argue the knife was for cutting the bag straps... Just saying...

[Misterwhisper]

- "So, we're going out drinking and having a good time tonight?"

- "Yeah, you betcha!"

- "We don't have any money. What if we can't pay for our bill?"

- "Not to worry. I've got a sharp knife, you've got a fast motorcycle. We'll just steal the money from some unsuspecting foreign tourist walking down the road. They are all rich, they deserve to be robbed."

Don't want to sound cynical, but what would've happened if those two scumbags' bagsnatching attempt had succeeded? Would they just have taken 300 baht out of the victim's bag and then returned it?

This was not simply a matter of getting ahold of a measly 300 Baht. This was a pre-meditated, full-blown robbery attempt involving a potentially lethal weapon. Since the alleged culprits carried that weapon, it must be assumed that they also had every intention to use it in case their robbery met with resistance from their targeted victim. The argument "we didn't intend to kill [that woman]" doesn't hold water.

ADDED: After the latest media report, the whole situation appears even more shocking. Now the alleged killer reportedly claimed he wanted to steal the money just for the sake of it, not because he needed it desperately. Scumbag!

Edited June 26, 2012 by Misterwhisper

[swillowbee]

typical thaivisa.. immediately assuming there are 'real killers' and that every arrest is some sort of conspiracy, and that the 2 arrested were tortured into confessing.. even though there hasn't been anything to suggest this is happening.. they always find these guys so fast because they have surveillance cameras everywhere and they put 100 cops on every hi-profile case, especially one that involves the killing of a foreign tourist..

Agree 100%; I also am sometimes am skeptically about Thai police but in cases like this they many times manage to solve and do a good job but many Thaivisa members need something to nag about.

Feel very sorry for the family but my compliments to the police and if they solved the case they can split the money ( saves me my 200 baht on the bike on Friday )

.

... "( saves me my 200 baht on the bike on Friday )" - Scorpio1949

... for any non-resident farang reading this post, what Scorpio1949 is saying is that Scorpio1949 is stopped and pays THB200 each Friday as a bribe to the Royal Thai Police for some invented traffic violation Scorpio1949 did not commit ... this is routine here for farang who live here.

... so, does that give non-resident farang an idea of just what the Royal Thai Police will do for THB 300,000? ... which is why so many of the resdienct farang who know Thailand are doubtful that justice is being done here with the arrest of the alleged murderers ... the corruption here is to the bone ... understanding that this is all about money, not justice, is difficult for foreigners to believe ... and yes, the Royal Thai Police are absolutely capable of railroading a couple of low-level criminals to save face, protect the parade of tourist wallets (upon which they all prey) and collect a nice fat piece of the reward money.

... once in the clutches of the Royal Thai Police, these two young men, guilty or not, are toast ... and they know it ... I would make no bet that they are the murderers ... maybe 50/50.

Edited June 26, 2012 by swillowbee

[tominbkk]

Seems the defense would argue the knife was for cutting the bag straps... Just saying...

Watch the vid though, he is intentionally stabbing her.

[kohphangan]

"round up the usual suspects."

I hope that the guilty parties are caught and brought to justice, but I do not have complete confidence in the impartiality of the system here. Two men with a criminal background caught within a few days. Case closed.

Well i read this bit also.. Quote

"The police were told he worked at a cockfighting gambling den somewhere on the island, even though such activity is illegal in the province. He had no prior criminal convictions".!!

So now i guess you think,they think " Their on to us,quick arrest a good guy,and a bad guy Sgt." that will work ... I Shake my head at how your mind works..

[ozzieman05]

- "So, we're going out drinking and having a good time tonight?"

- "Yeah, you betcha!"

- "We don't have any money. What if we can't pay for our bill?"

- "Not to worry. I've got a sharp knife, you've got a fast motorcycle. We'll just steal the money from some unsuspecting foreign tourist walking down the road. They are all rich, they deserve to be robbed."

Don't want to sound cynical, but what would've happened if those two scumbags' bagsnatching attempt had succeeded? Would they just have taken 300 baht out of the victim's bag and then returned it?

This was not simply a matter of getting ahold of a measly 300 Baht. This was a pre-meditated, full-blown robbery attempt involving a potentially lethal weapon. Since the alleged culprits carried that weapon, it must be assumed that they also had every intention to use it in case their robbery met with resistance from their targeted victim. The argument "we didn't intend to kill [that woman]" doesn't hold water.

Funny in all my years in thailand I have never heard Thais talk in western currency, so it amazes me they wanted $10

they would not know this value or what they could do with it

they would normally say 500 baht, or 1000 baht a nice round Thai understandable figure

Am I the only one to see this saying so un Thai

[dingdang]

geez... what a knife... where do you stab such a thing, in order to not cause most serious harm?

[stevenl]

No mention of the survivor confirming the identities of the 2 caught by the police. Anyone know if she is still in Phuket or has gone home?

I'll believe that the 2 are the real culprits when there is some proof & this article doesn't prove anything.

Well, they confessed, were identified from the CCTV and did a convincing reenactment.

[crazykopite]

"round up the usual suspects."

I hope that the guilty parties are caught and brought to justice, but I do not have complete confidence in the impartiality of the system here. Two men with a criminal background caught within a few days. Case closed.

It stated that the guy who had done the stabbing did not have any previous convictions .

[PhilipCook]

Tourists vote with their wallets, a bit of crime here and there doesn't sway those who enjoy the climate, the scenery and the other, various enticements. I work here, but when I decide to travel its definitely to Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park and any covenient city on my flight path for the farang things that cost too much here or are unavailable in my size(shoes, socks, rain jackets, sunglasses, vitamins, hot chocolate).

Give Montana a try, you will be glad you did.

[chooka]

Is it possible that this woman was rude and or disrespectful to those working in that bar after a disagreement about being over charged. Not saying this woman deserved this but there could be more to it. The loss a face in Thailand has been the cause of many a tragedy such as this.

Where does it say anywhere that this woman had been in a bar or was overcharged for anything by anyone? The suspect had been to a restuarant and couldn't pay the bill so he went out to steal some money.

You have to be careful throwing in red hearings and rubbish because others lacking brain cells on here will probably agree with you and run off in the wrong direction.

[chooka]

Tourists vote with their wallets, a bit of crime here and there doesn't sway those who enjoy the climate, the scenery and the other, various enticements. I work here, but when I decide to travel its definitely to Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park and any covenient city on my flight path for the farang things that cost too much here or are unavailable in my size(shoes, socks, rain jackets, sunglasses, vitamins, hot chocolate).

Give Montana a try, you will be glad you did.

It's in the U.S so I will pass.

[dingdang]

lets see what the charges are... manslaughter or murder?

[Sharp]

50,000 baht reward money was divided up among the police investigators who worked on the successful investigation.

LOL

And there's me thinking it was their job..... Silly me...

[crazykopite]

"round up the usual suspects."

I hope that the guilty parties are caught and brought to justice, but I do not have complete confidence in the impartiality of the system here. Two men with a criminal background caught within a few days. Case closed.

It stated that the guy who had done the stabbing did not have any previous convictions .

[chooka]

lets see what the charges are... manslaughter or murder?

It has already been reported that they have been charged with murder and robbery. The murder charge could be downgraded to manslaughter in court.

[Markaew]

"no intention of killing Mrs Smith". ??...well that's ok then, let them go.

Actually the victims family might have a different idea. If you carried a knife, chose a random person in the street and then stabbed them in the heart....if difficult to come to any conclusion other than you had every intention to kill them,

Ditto. Looking at the video there is no question it wasn't an accident.

[Markaew]

typical thaivisa.. immediately assuming there are 'real killers' and that every arrest is some sort of conspiracy, and that the 2 arrested were tortured into confessing.. even though there hasn't been anything to suggest this is happening.. they always find these guys so fast because they have surveillance cameras everywhere and they put 100 cops on every hi-profile case, especially one that involves the killing of a foreign tourist..

Agree 100%; I also am sometimes am skeptically about Thai police but in cases like this they many times manage to solve and do a good job but many Thaivisa members need something to nag about.

Feel very sorry for the family but my compliments to the police and if they solved the case they can split the money ( saves me my 200 baht on the bike on Friday )

.

... "( saves me my 200 baht on the bike on Friday )" - Scorpio1949

... for any non-resident farang reading this post, what Scorpio1949 is saying is that Scorpio1949 is stopped and pays THB200 each Friday as a bribe to the Royal Thai Police for some invented traffic violation Scorpio1949 did not commit ... this is routine here for farang who live here.

... so, does that give non-resident farang an idea of just what the Royal Thai Police will do for THB 300,000? ... which is why so many of the resdienct farang who know Thailand are doubtful that justice is being done here with the arrest of the alleged murderers ... the corruption here is to the bone ... understanding that this is all about money, not justice, is difficult for foreigners to believe ... and yes, the Royal Thai Police are absolutely capable of railroading a couple of low-level criminals to save face, protect the parade of tourist wallets (upon which they all prey) and collect a nice fat piece of the reward money.

... once in the clutches of the Royal Thai Police, these two young men, guilty or not, are toast ... and they know it ... I would make no bet that they are the murderers ... maybe 50/50.

I must admit I am beginning to like your interpretations.

[HerbalEd]

You TV Thai-haters never disappoint. Yet again you assume the very worst and create conspiracy fantasies out of nothing. As much as I like TV, I must say this constant whining is very annoying. If you thing/feel so negative against Thailand and Thais, why do you even log on to TV????

[davidstipek]

"round up the usual suspects."

I hope that the guilty parties are caught and brought to justice, but I do not have complete confidence in the impartiality of the system here. Two men with a criminal background caught within a few days. Case closed.

It stated that the guy who had done the stabbing did not have any previous convictions .

Yes none that he was caught at doing... Doesn't mean his Knife has not seen blood before! Trust me on this, he was too quick and too... acurate with his knife!

[webfact]

UPDATE:

Crime suspects re-enact killing Australian

PHUKET, June 26 -- Two suspects alleged to have murdered an Australian woman travel agent in an attempted robbery last week today were escorted by police to re-enact their fatal assault the victim and seriously wounded her travelling companion on this southern resort island.

The two suspects, Surasak Suwannachote, 26, and Surin Thatthong, 37, were taken to the crime scene on Kata Noi Road in Phuket’s provincial seat to re-enact and demonstrate how they attempted t rob and stabbed Australian national Michelle Elizabeth Smith, 60, and severely wounded her companion, Tammee Lee Lynn, 42, on June 20.

National police chief Priewpan Damapong and local police officers witnessed the re-enactment, which was carried out for half an hour amid a crowd of dissatisfied and angry local residents and tourists.

Deputy national police chief Pansiri Prapawatannounced that the police on June 23 had placed a bounty on the men for Bt300,000 (US$10,000) and then received clues which led to the arrest of the two men yesterday.

Mr Surasak, the alleged killer, was captured on Monday in Chumphon’s Tha Sae district, while Mr Surin, believed to be the motorcycle driver, was apprehended on Sunday in Ban Phaeo district of Bangkok’s neighbouring province of Samut Sakhon, Pol Gen Pansiri said.

The suspects admitted all the criminal charges that were leveled against them.

According to the criminal record, Mr Surin had earlier been charged with committing four criminal offences while Mr Surasak had been charged with one drug offence. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-06-26

[james255]

But said they had no intention of killing Mrs Smith".

Total Rubbish! Look at the video; already you can see the Thai man continually stab the Australian women many times.

That is no accident and I would expect the full penalty for this either Hang them or death by firing squad

If the Law in Thailand was strict about attacks and crime on westerner's ( Thailand would be Number 1 ) tourist destination in the World if westerner's could come to the land of smiles knowing they are safe and thai police and law's protect them !

A small jail sentence will only bring more shame to Phuket and its law and order.

Im not either going to mention about the reward money but it has been twisted in press like to arrest someone in Thailand you must Pay the Police they will not do that for FREE

Protect westerner's or they will goto burma or vietnam if this keeps up 5 more years there will be no westerners in Thailand and all you Thais with morgage or credt fianance on car;s will have to kiss that goodbye and go back to working in rice fields cos there will be no westerner's here to support you .

Edited June 26, 2012 by james255

[chooka]

This re enactment thing was a circus, sure do the re enactment if they have to but why not block off and secure the street keeping the general public away.

[cmcompdoctor]

When I read comments on TV I am really ashamed to be part of the Farang community.

If you think there is no corruption in your own country you are seriously mistaken, the difference is : here they say they will share the 300k thb.

Makes me wonder why all posters who are so full of hate over this country are still living here ..... wait wait, I know, because of cheap beers and girls wich makes up for all the atrocities you claim the Thais to do....

Before talking about flaws of Thailand you should really look back at your country and its flaws.

[james255]

When I read comments on TV I am really ashamed to be part of the Farang community.

If you think there is no corruption in your own country you are seriously mistaken, the difference is : here they say they will share the 300k thb.

Makes me wonder why all posters who are so full of hate over this country are still living here ..... wait wait, I know, because of cheap beers and girls wich makes up for all the atrocities you claim the Thais to do....

Before talking about flaws of Thailand you should really look back at your country and its flaws.

I dont agree with your post for simple reason's westerner's get hurt and sad when another westerner gets killed in Thailand over the last 10 years there has been into the 1000 for sure . There are many good westerner's in Thailand who dont even mix with the so called redlight area's and try and do good for Thailand and Investment so dont put all westerner's in same position thats how many farangs do get killed by the ignorence of Thai people who think all westerner's are sex tourist ?

By the way This women was not a SEX TOURIST but a very Important Travel Agent in Australia who was trying to promote Thailand and Phuket as a luxury SAFE Paradise ? How safe is that when the Person who is promoting Thailand gets killed ?

Westerners have a right to come here and post bad

This is dam right terrible and should never happen

[LBD1]

No doubt that 300,000 reward money will again be divided up by the police but who cares if in fact they did get the the lowlifes that did it. But you never know, they may have just grabbed some patsies to look good for island tourism.

I wonder if they next will arrest the guy at the bar who told these two chumps "if you kill that woman I'll give you $10".

<deleted>??? who turned your rock over??