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

[gaucho]

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..

i think u have hit the nail on the head on this one ...this was too hot to stuff up ...<deleted> the woman was a TRAVEL AGENT ...even the dumb and dumber would realise the consequences .....the police would have grabbed a lowlife on something and then just go from there these animals would have shot there mouths of before realiising the woman was dead ...rip dear lady ..no one deserves to die on holidays cheers

[Yunla]

From the OP.

that the pair confessed to the crime

Maybe they did. Maybe the cops were holding them for somethiing else and threatened to pop them both if they didn't take the fall. We do not infact know. Some police play by seriously murky rules. One thing I do know is that the video didn't show the guys faces in any kind of detail at all so the arrest is based entirely on confessions. I hope its the right guys and if it is then they are guilty of murder, manslaughter is not the correct name for running towards a senior citizen with a knife in your hand, manslaughter is knocking a vase onto somebody's head by accident or something, not running at old people with a knife.

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 was involved in sordid animal cruelty activities that we the are working tirelessly to stamp out for the good of tourists everywhere. You can trust us.

Little information was given about how investigators tracked down the two men

They may have been in trouble with somebody important already.

nor was there any mention as to whether the 300,000 baht in money on offer for information in the case will be rewarded.

Has been spent already probably.

Edited June 26, 2012 by Yunla

[rayw]

Well the real problem here as to why folk suspect the police have just nailed this onto an easy target (no I personally do not believe they have in this case) is because they are allowed to claim the reward. WHY?? The police are doing their job so they are NOT entitled to a reward surely and should not have it either. In the UK the police and/or officials are not allowed to received gifts, bribes and rewards and that is truly the correct way. Any reward when the police have solved the crime usually is given to a worthy charity, even say the Police Orphans Home or similar.

No wonder Thai police are all the time accused of corruption. Why doesn't the Government properly clamp down on it and for a start pay the police a good and decent wage commensurate with the job and in return demand all their officers are exemplary in their conduct and honesty. Currently with the paltry wages they get paid one can understand why they need plenty of "tea money".

Maybe if this happened then police would not for example turn a blind eye to 14 year olds riding motorcycles without of course any licence or training and without crash helmets either and often 3 on a bike. I know this happens as I have a 15 year old step son who keeps arguing that he wants to ride a motorbike as his younger friends do and he says all the local police do not mind either and rarely stop them 9and if they do they just tick them off gently). As a responsible parent I ensure that he is banned from doing so until he passes his test and gets a proper licence and when he does he must ALWAYS wears a crash helmet even if just going down the road and NEVER more than 2 on a bike. All I get back from him are childish silly sulks saying his friends Thai parents allow their 14 year old to ride any motorbike they want, and even somehow buy them one even though they seem very poor, and they know they are riding without a helmet on either. As I told him they have bloody stupid criminally irresponsible parents who cannot care about their children at all as there are so many young unlicensed drivers around here that get killed and injured badly from pointless motorbike accidents (very very sad but is it any surprise?).

The fault though lies fairly and squarely with the police who do not stop them around here, as lets face it these kids have no tea money in their pockets to pay them. Sorry if they are serious about road safety in Thailand THIS is probably the very biggest cause of it, lack of sensible and proper policing. Kills and injures far more than even drink driving I reckon, both are wrong but this lack of policing in checking for licenses, under-aged riders, crash helmet wearing, no lights on bikes, 3 on a bike, jumping red traffic lights, going the wrong way down roads, etc etc is criminally wrong and any police turning a blind eye to any of those offences in my mind is contributory responsible for any subsequent accident his lack of action results in.

Of course like all of us I prefer for a minor road offence to give the nice policeman 200 Baht in his pocket, much better than in the UK with endorsements and stupid levels of fines for minor infringements. But sure I know this is the thin edge of the wedge that probably leads to the more criminal and intolerable corruption you hear about that does this country a massive injustice and causes so much problem to the Thai people, as well as its guests and visitors too (The disgusting Jet Ski scams are reported to be linked to local police corruption, you bet this is indeed true).

Sorry for thread drift but it is relevant when I read about the police sharing out the reward of capturing the murderer(s) in this terrible sad case. Khin Yinglat, see to it that you pay the police a lot more salary, ban them getting any private rewards/bribes, and demand in return honest and true policing from them all. Not my country I know, but I am sure the decent 90% of Thai folk would 100% support me in saying this, and it IS because I do love this country and do care that I would love to see some of these terrible things put right for the benefit of the nation as a whole.

[Mitker]

Quote:

The last time a major reward was offered in a murder case on the island, during the July 2010 manhunt for American Ronald Fanelli, the 50,000 baht reward money was divided up among the police investigators who worked on the successful investigation.

Quote: /

Pathetic indeed

The reward is not for the police to share among themselves.

It is intended as an incentive to tiers individuals who could help the police by supplying critical information it is lacking.

Not as an extra for policemen who are expected to do their job by solving the case.

[animatic]

A woman died because these fools can't even keep track of their bar tab

and likely feared a beating if the didn't get the money fast.

Pathetic.

No surprise the Police will share the reward amongst themselves.

[lee68]

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.

Here here,im from the UK and have lived in Thailand for 18 years,and it does have some flaws,but i feel safer going out at night here than in my home town of Liverpool for a night out,were you can also get mugged quite easily and beaten up for a small amount of money,or in some cases,just for looking at somebody the wrong way.I wont be leaving Thailand any time soon.But my heart goes out to the poor woman who was killed and her family,just hope they got the right guys.

[terry101]

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

LOL

Once again another point just to show how messed up the police department is. Why would the police have to be given this reward to share. Do they not already get paid for doing exactly this, solving crimes, so then they basically get paid "double" (their regular in come and then the reward as well.) makes ablsolutely no sense . This might be the reason why the case was "solved" so quickly by the police, because they knew that they will all be in line for a few extra baht once they arrest these "suspects

[Nisa]

Quote:

The last time a major reward was offered in a murder case on the island, during the July 2010 manhunt for American Ronald Fanelli, the 50,000 baht reward money was divided up among the police investigators who worked on the successful investigation.

Quote: /

Pathetic indeed

The reward is not for the police to share among themselves.

It is intended as an incentive to tiers individuals who could help the police by supplying critical information it is lacking.

Not as an extra for policemen who are expected to do their job by solving the case.

Obviously you are wrong and just another person trying to impose your home countries views and rules here.

[Nisa]

Good job by the police despite the doom and gloom brigade finding reasons to let everyone know how miserable they are. And more power to them if they can share in a reward given they risk their lives daily and start off with no scheduled days off and making a salary of around 7500 baht a month.

Strange no one makes that connection when talking about police corruption... I know many expats who spend more than that on a bottle of wine but the very same people expect a first class police service, while having no comprehension of how anyone could possibly survive on such an income.

The reality is that you can't possibly support a family on anything close to that wage, hence the "extra-curricular" activities to bring in some much need money...

It is simply an indication of incredibly low self-esteem. It truly is sad that people with more means and money than people in less developed country come to that country and do little but whine and act surprised because the country is not more advanced ... come to think of it, not only an indication of a very low self-esteem but also a completely lack of self awareness in terms of how idiotic they make themselves look.

[Nisa]

Some farangs will not ever be happy here even if they get what they want and Thailand has the same type rigid control of the country they fled.

[Heng]

It's relatively easier to catch 'runners' here because there are far fewer degrees of separation. Someone always knows someone who knows you and notices you are missing from your usual job or hang out. After that it's only a matter of time. A lot of guys run home. A lot of guys simply can't afford to stay (most violent criminals here are already poor with limited education) off the grid. These guys aren't going to resurface in Fiji living off of their offshore accounts. The people who CAN afford to do real runners are all doing white collar crime so there's no need to hunt them down.

[silent]

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..

Fortunate thing that along with a small mind is usually a comparable memory. That means we don't have to worry about all the Sherlocks and Watsons conjecturing the next time a robbery takes place with a half way similar modus operandi and hear that those were the real culprits that got away here, (2 punks on a motorbike in Thailand).

By that time, (unless this is another cereal case defined as more than one in a row), it's likely that none of our experts will remember enough about this one to criticise what was probably very determined professional police work.

It's unfortunate that it's just about as impossible to prevent this kind of crime taking place as it is for the police to do anything right with all the kind of help and support they get here.

[Nisa]

It's relatively easier to catch 'runners' here because there are far fewer degrees of separation. Someone always knows someone who knows you and notices you are missing from your usual job or hang out. After that it's only a matter of time. A lot of guys run home. A lot of guys simply can't afford to stay (most violent criminals here are already poor with limited education) off the grid. These guys aren't going to resurface in Fiji living off of their offshore accounts. The people who CAN afford to do real runners are all doing white collar crime so there's no need to hunt them down.

I always wonder how they catch the ones they don't have the resources to actively search for. In the US and assuming much of the west whenever you come in contact with a cop, they run your name for warrants. Not only do they street cops lack computers but I don't even think they have the resources to call in by radio to get information even on a tiny percentage of the people the deal with daily. Yet, Thailand still rates in the top 30 when in comes to countries and percentage of people incarcerated.

[Bramdaddy]

Anyone confesses after a bit of police torture and political pressure. Be you that they will get a seat sentence without being represented by a lawyer because they can't afford one. The real killers might still be out though, which is not important, case solved (maybe)

What!!!

Tragic. Keep pulling sips of your beer Chang...glug glug glug.

[Fozfromoz]

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...

Not trying to be Sherlock Holmes here, but looking at the picture, where it says a re-enactment, of the suspect holding the knife, doesnt look like a grip that would normall be used to cut a strap??

[jerrysteve]

Intention to kill this person or not, is still murder anyway you slice it.

[Fozfromoz]

Some farangs will not ever be happy here even if they get what they want and Thailand has the same type rigid control of the country they fled.

Please elaborate for this Farang?

[Nisa]

A reward of 300,000 baht ($9670) was offered to anyone providing information leading to the arrest of the men.

The money has been put up by provincial police officials and the owner of the Katathani Phuket Beach Resort where the group had been staying.

http://www.perthnow....u-1226408059330

Edited June 26, 2012 by Nisa

[coma]

I see they are trying to use the excuse that the victim was delivered the fatal blow accidently, in the process of trying to cut the bag strap. Hope the crown prosecutors don't for a second buy into that for attempted excuse in the hope of getting a lesser sentence. Cowards!!!

[colinneil]

para does not know what he is talking about every body gets a lawyer in thai courts absolute bullshit, i have been in court on trumped up charges (EX wife) no lawyer provided no translater , a friends wife came to court to help told to sit down shut up by the judge

[shotover]

"TWO men accused of killing Perth travel agent Michelle Smith in Phuket have confessed, saying they attacked her to get $10 to pay for drinks, Thai police say.

Thai police said the men admitted attempting to rob Mrs Smith of $10 to pay for a drinks bill at a nearby bar.

The pair, who were captured on CCTV as they rode the getaway motorcycle after slashing Mrs Smith and friend Tammee Lynn, were arrested in Samutsakhon province, near Bangkok."

Not sure how to interpret this . . . Were the accused killers drinking at the same bar with the victim and her friend? Or were they trying to collect on an unpaid bill? Or most likely they owed 300 baht to a bar, and went after what they considered easy theft targets?

Has anyone seen further details that explain how the accused picked these victims?

[Jimi007]

"TWO men accused of killing Perth travel agent Michelle Smith in Phuket have confessed, saying they attacked her to get $10 to pay for drinks, Thai police say.

Thai police said the men admitted attempting to rob Mrs Smith of $10 to pay for a drinks bill at a nearby bar.

The pair, who were captured on CCTV as they rode the getaway motorcycle after slashing Mrs Smith and friend Tammee Lynn, were arrested in Samutsakhon province, near Bangkok."

Not sure how to interpret this . . . Were the accused killers drinking at the same bar with the victim and her friend? Or were they trying to collect on an unpaid bill? Or most likely they owed 300 baht to a bar, and went after what they considered easy theft targets?

Has anyone seen further details that explain how the accused picked these victims?

I would have to go with your option C: Or most likely they owed 300 baht to a bar, and went after what they considered easy theft targets?

[Heng]

It's relatively easier to catch 'runners' here because there are far fewer degrees of separation. Someone always knows someone who knows you and notices you are missing from your usual job or hang out. After that it's only a matter of time. A lot of guys run home. A lot of guys simply can't afford to stay (most violent criminals here are already poor with limited education) off the grid. These guys aren't going to resurface in Fiji living off of their offshore accounts. The people who CAN afford to do real runners are all doing white collar crime so there's no need to hunt them down.

I always wonder how they catch the ones they don't have the resources to actively search for. In the US and assuming much of the west whenever you come in contact with a cop, they run your name for warrants. Not only do they street cops lack computers but I don't even think they have the resources to call in by radio to get information even on a tiny percentage of the people the deal with daily. Yet, Thailand still rates in the top 30 when in comes to countries and percentage of people incarcerated.

Yeah, IMO the main thing that offsets the relative police disadvantage in technology is the criminals disadvantage in resources and places to go. And if you're going to try to go ID-less, you're risking getting put in a cage car in one of the many random 'taxing' police checkpoints. Forget about operating a vehicle for the same reason. So that leaves you on foot and wandering around. In many cases these guys just decide to turn themselves in.

[coma]

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..

The like you are refering to are no life losers and have too much time on thier hands. So they sit around all day dreaming up conspiracy theories at every opportunity. i.e, there were no planes hitting buildings on 9/11 etc etc. Sad individuals really.

Edited June 26, 2012 by coma

[Jimi007]

It's relatively easier to catch 'runners' here because there are far fewer degrees of separation. Someone always knows someone who knows you and notices you are missing from your usual job or hang out. After that it's only a matter of time. A lot of guys run home. A lot of guys simply can't afford to stay (most violent criminals here are already poor with limited education) off the grid. These guys aren't going to resurface in Fiji living off of their offshore accounts. The people who CAN afford to do real runners are all doing white collar crime so there's no need to hunt them down.

I always wonder how they catch the ones they don't have the resources to actively search for. In the US and assuming much of the west whenever you come in contact with a cop, they run your name for warrants. Not only do they street cops lack computers but I don't even think they have the resources to call in by radio to get information even on a tiny percentage of the people the deal with daily. Yet, Thailand still rates in the top 30 when in comes to countries and percentage of people incarcerated.

Yeah, IMO the main thing that offsets the relative police disadvantage in technology is the criminals disadvantage in resources and places to go. And if you're going to try to go ID-less, you're risking getting put in a cage car in one of the many random 'taxing' police checkpoints. Forget about operating a vehicle for the same reason. So that leaves you on foot and wandering around. In many cases these guys just decide to turn themselves in.

Exactly. If they didn't have 300 Baht to pay a bar bill, how far could they run? Certainly not out of the country...

[Lifer]

A lot of sick cynical posters comment about things of which they know nothing. It's the same with almost every news article posted. Total negativity about everything. Would be nice if they could return home and prosper their own countries with their amazing knowledge.

Edited June 26, 2012 by Lifer

[Nisa]

"TWO men accused of killing Perth travel agent Michelle Smith in Phuket have confessed, saying they attacked her to get $10 to pay for drinks, Thai police say.

Thai police said the men admitted attempting to rob Mrs Smith of $10 to pay for a drinks bill at a nearby bar.

The pair, who were captured on CCTV as they rode the getaway motorcycle after slashing Mrs Smith and friend Tammee Lynn, were arrested in Samutsakhon province, near Bangkok."

Not sure how to interpret this . . . Were the accused killers drinking at the same bar with the victim and her friend? Or were they trying to collect on an unpaid bill? Or most likely they owed 300 baht to a bar, and went after what they considered easy theft targets?

Has anyone seen further details that explain how the accused picked these victims?

I would have to go with your option C: Or most likely they owed 300 baht to a bar, and went after what they considered easy theft targets?

I am having a bit of trouble with the bar tab claim. They were out of the bar and could have left the area but instead they chose to escalate a crime of running out on a bar tab to robbery (ultimately murder). People just don't do this unless this is how they typically get money. If they did this over a bar tab then I am guessing this is an every day thing for them and a lot of purse snatching cases can be closed. This is a common form of robbery here but it only takes a couple guys to make it common. Even with burglaries a pair of thieves can make the crime rate for such crimes go up dramatically in an area but usually in a house robbery you hopefully get enough to last you some time. Purse snatching on the other hand may get you enough to last a day or two meaning your going to be pulling these robberies almost daily, But who knows, they obviously didn't sound too good at this as an innocent women was not just robbed but killed while another was assaulted ... just seems awful strange to pull this type of thing for the first time over a small bar tab.

Edited June 26, 2012 by Nisa

[Nisa]

Forget Amazing Thailand ... today is Amazing Thai Visa. I cannot believe the number of posters coming out to voice their frustration with the constant bashing of Thais and Thailand over every single news article reprinted here.

Is it actually possible we may start to move away from condemning all Thais for the actions of a few or ignorantly act as is less developed nations function the same as first world nations and instead actually debate and talk about the news story?

[chooka]

"TWO men accused of killing Perth travel agent Michelle Smith in Phuket have confessed, saying they attacked her to get $10 to pay for drinks, Thai police say.

Thai police said the men admitted attempting to rob Mrs Smith of $10 to pay for a drinks bill at a nearby bar.

The pair, who were captured on CCTV as they rode the getaway motorcycle after slashing Mrs Smith and friend Tammee Lynn, were arrested in Samutsakhon province, near Bangkok."

Not sure how to interpret this . . . Were the accused killers drinking at the same bar with the victim and her friend? Or were they trying to collect on an unpaid bill? Or most likely they owed 300 baht to a bar, and went after what they considered easy theft targets?

Has anyone seen further details that explain how the accused picked these victims?

The victim and friend had been out to a restuarant with a party of ten (10) for dinner and were heading back to the hotel. No mention anywhere that they were out drinking in a bar, Some people have not even read the story. No the victim had not been drinking at a bar and did not do a runner without paying the bill and the offenders were not trying to recover an unpaid bill.

[Heng]

"TWO men accused of killing Perth travel agent Michelle Smith in Phuket have confessed, saying they attacked her to get $10 to pay for drinks, Thai police say.

Thai police said the men admitted attempting to rob Mrs Smith of $10 to pay for a drinks bill at a nearby bar.

The pair, who were captured on CCTV as they rode the getaway motorcycle after slashing Mrs Smith and friend Tammee Lynn, were arrested in Samutsakhon province, near Bangkok."

Not sure how to interpret this . . . Were the accused killers drinking at the same bar with the victim and her friend? Or were they trying to collect on an unpaid bill? Or most likely they owed 300 baht to a bar, and went after what they considered easy theft targets?

Has anyone seen further details that explain how the accused picked these victims?

I would have to go with your option C: Or most likely they owed 300 baht to a bar, and went after what they considered easy theft targets?

I am having a bit of trouble with the bar tab claim. They were out of the bar and could have left the area but instead they chose to escalate a crime of running out on a bar tab to robbery (ultimately murder). People just don't do this unless this is how they typically get money. If they did this over a bar tab then I am guessing this is an every day thing for them and a lot of purse snatching cases can be closed. If they are not from Phucket then they need to check where these guys have been staying. This is a common form of robbery here but it only takes a couple guys to make it common. Even with burglaries a pair of thieves can make the crime rate for such crimes go up dramatically but usually in a house robbery you hopefully get enough to last you some time. Purse snatching on the other hand may get you enough to last a day or two meaning your going to be pulling these robberies almost daily, But who knows, they obviously didn't sound too good at this as an innocent women was not just robbed but killed while another was assaulted ... just seems awful strange to pull this type of thing for the first time over a small bar tab.

I wouldn't put too much weight into the specifics of what they said. The key points are if the survivor can identify these guys and that should be that. They can otherwise make up the rest to dress up the story. Maybe they thought their tale sounded better than 'robbing to get their yaba fix.'

:-|