British backpacker arrested for suspected murder of fellow Britons at Koh Tao

[Greg Nixon]

Because no one was wearing a helmet or a seatbelt.

From Tom Phillips at the Telegraph @tomphillipsin

Now foreign tourists in Bermudas are wandering through very same crime scene as it is being searched #kohtao

Why the hell haven't they closed off the crime scene!!!

[metisdead]

As the Daily Mail is blocked on Thai servers, posts containing links to the Daily Mail have been removed to remove queries as to why the link cannot be viewed.

A post containing a link to Bangkok Post has been removed:

26) The Bangkok Post and Phuketwan do not allow quotes from their news articles or other material to appear on Thaivisa.com. Neither do they allow links to their publications. Posts from members containing quotes from or links to Bangkok Post or Phuketwan publications will be deleted from the forum.

These restrictions are put in place by the above publications, not Thaivisa.com
In rare cases, forum Administrators or the news team may use these sources under special permission.

Posts containing rather graphic descriptions of the injuries to the deceased have been removed as well as calls for the links to the facebook page which has apparently been deleted anyway. We don't need that anyway, nor does the friends and family of the deceased.

Other off topic or nonsense posts and replies have been removed as well.

[Tony121]

If this crime was committed in england his friend right now would most probably be the prime suspect as he would of been one of the last people to see him and has a large cut on the back of his hand, what they would be looking for now is a motive.

[chiang mai]

Sad to see so many posters here taking the opportunity to bash Thailand from any angle, the police, the news reports, the investigation, perhaps the most remarkable one was where a poster wished that the UK police had been asked to investigate, how arrogant is that!

And for the poster who asked the question, should we demand the same penalty for a farang murderer as a local one, no, the penalty should be increased because the assumed educational levels are higher in the UK than in Thailand, a Brit murderer really would have had every opportunity to learn that what he had doing was wrong.

[livingthedream]

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[BKKBrit]

Note to self. Stop reading the inane ramblings of Rambo-Sherlocks with too much time on their hands and too little knowledge of....frankly, anything. My eyes are bleeding from so much drivel.

[max72]

I am not convinced.

How could he have a hoe that night ?

Where did he get that hoe ?

It is not normal a tourist has a hoe with himself.

If he had picked the hoe before, it means the murder was premeditate. Absolutely. Otherwise I doubt he found it on the beach.

[englishoak]

Sad to see so many posters here taking the opportunity to bash Thailand from any angle, the police, the news reports, the investigation, perhaps the most remarkable one was where a poster wished that the UK police had been asked to investigate, how arrogant is that!

And for the poster who asked the question, should we demand the same penalty for a farang murderer as a local one, no, the penalty should be increased because the assumed educational levels are higher in the UK than in Thailand, a Brit murderer really would have had every opportunity to learn that what he had doing was wrong.

The UK police being asked to help would be BY FAR the smartest thing to do. Being the UK police know how to conduct a proper enquiry and competent forensics and protect a crime scene. It would also be very good for relations and international face.

If your trying to say the RTP know how to do the above properly then i pity you.

[livingthedream]

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[Thai at Heart]

Sad to see so many posters here taking the opportunity to bash Thailand from any angle, the police, the news reports, the investigation, perhaps the most remarkable one was where a poster wished that the UK police had been asked to investigate, how arrogant is that!

And for the poster who asked the question, should we demand the same penalty for a farang murderer as a local one, no, the penalty should be increased because the assumed educational levels are higher in the UK than in Thailand, a Brit murderer really would have had every opportunity to learn that what he had doing was wrong.

You obviously have little experience with the BIB. Ever heard of Kirsty Jones? Or several other massively high profile cases where the BIB have been proven to be completely and utterly inept at solving this type of violent crime.

The one about the policeman who shot a toruist in the head, was then bailed, threatened all the witnesses while on bail, got away with it, and was then found guiilty of shooting his wife was also a good and very unfunny one.

They won't have any reasonable forensics or evidence gathering to a western standard. Guaranteed. And so far they are working on the, "she had a lot of boyfriends and were out late so were asking for it" line.

[mojorison]

I am quite flabbergasted by this statement in the Daily Mail article

Thailand’s prime minister, General Prayut Chan-O-Cha, yesterday appeared to blame the holidaymakers, claiming they should have known better than to leave themselves vulnerable by venturing out in the early hours on the island.

Good grief. I've never been there myself but the Daily Mail also says “the island, only three miles long “. In theory you should feel 10 times safer in a small place like that in the early hours of the morning than in Bangkok or Pattaya ? If not, then Thailand really does have a problem with safety

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2758358/British-man-questioned-two-British-tourists-death-Thailand.html

Correct, Thailand has a problem with safety. At night if we don't have customers, we close doors for fear of armed robbery. And that's on one of the 3 islands that this concerns. Loads of junkies. I've got 2 large german dogs trained to kill.

[crazykopite]

The reports are claiming strands of blonde hair in the victims hand the photos of the arrested Brit show he has dark hair, I am sure that had it been him to committed the murders he would have had a lot of marks on his body as it states the male victim had put up a fight/struggle. I get the feeling the police are incapable and should seek the assistance from the British police I also find it disgusting that the Thai police involved have been posting pictures on there Facebook pages

[Benmart]

I will defer to those whose jobs it is to investigate, solve and prosecute such crimes.

I prefer to ignore the self-appointed, self-annoited, self-centered, know-it-alls.

[Franky Bear]

I am not convinced.

How could he have a hoe that night ?

Where did he get that hoe ?

It is not normal a tourist has a hoe with himself.

If he had picked the hoe before, it means the murder was premeditate. Absolutely. Otherwise I doubt he found it on the beach.

They use them at beach bars to rake the sand of leaves and rubbish.

[uffe123]

The camera showed a Asian man, so why are they trying to pin it on a foreigner. Trouble finding the right person?

Of course a Thai couldn't do such a thing?

[mike324]

anyone surprise there are no pictures of the accused Burmese workers? if they were one of the prime suspects, Thai media would have splashed their picture everywhere. Or maybe I missed it?

[alanrchase]

Strange he would keep the shirt when he could have a) burned it - who would notice a small fire in Thailand ? tied it to a rock and thrown it in the sea. c) buried it.

Oh I get it it must have been his favourite shirt.

Am sure if you google stupid crimial you will find lots of examples. Radio and tv shows have done well relating incredulous tales about stupidity.

[chiang mai]

Sad to see so many posters here taking the opportunity to bash Thailand from any angle, the police, the news reports, the investigation, perhaps the most remarkable one was where a poster wished that the UK police had been asked to investigate, how arrogant is that!

And for the poster who asked the question, should we demand the same penalty for a farang murderer as a local one, no, the penalty should be increased because the assumed educational levels are higher in the UK than in Thailand, a Brit murderer really would have had every opportunity to learn that what he had doing was wrong.

The UK police being asked to help would be BY FAR the smartest thing to do. Being the UK police know how to conduct a proper enquiry and competent forensics and protect a crime scene. It would also be very good for relations and international face.

If your trying to say the RTP know how to do the above properly then i pity you.

Thai police Sergeant: oh look, a Brit has been killed.

Thai Police Colonel: Right, I'll cal the British Police and get them over here straight away to investigate matters.

Tell me you're not real!

[metisdead]

Flame posts, troll posts and posts discussing death statistics (off topic) have been removed.

[huawei]

Sad to see so many posters here taking the opportunity to bash Thailand from any angle, the police, the news reports, the investigation, perhaps the most remarkable one was where a poster wished that the UK police had been asked to investigate, how arrogant is that!

And for the poster who asked the question, should we demand the same penalty for a farang murderer as a local one, no, the penalty should be increased because the assumed educational levels are higher in the UK than in Thailand, a Brit murderer really would have had every opportunity to learn that what he had doing was wrong.

You obviously have little experience with the BIB. Ever heard of Kirsty Jones? Or several other massively high profile cases where the BIB have been proven to be completely and utterly inept at solving this type of violent crime.

The one about the policeman who shot a toruist in the head, was then bailed, threatened all the witnesses while on bail, got away with it, and was then found guiilty of shooting his wife was also a good and very unfunny one.

They won't have any reasonable forensics or evidence gathering to a western standard. Guaranteed. And so far they are working on the, "she had a lot of boyfriends and were out late so were asking for it" line.

Agreed. Situations were happening in koh samui in the 80's when I lived there, but didn't have globalisation then.

The South had always been unstable.

How the Thais dismissed the aids virus as a foreign disease,the Saudi scam, but that Kirsty case was a real eye opener..the list is endless.. Not Thai bashing but just a realisation of what is important here and it's not foreigners.

I wish people would differentiate between what is a Thai trait whether we like it or not and actual Thai bashing for bashing sake.

[Fat Haggis]

Apparently in the Thai language news the blood stained clothes were hidden in his luggage, also the guy had been raped too plus the girl had blonde hair in her hands, it's going to get interesting now for sure

Surely the police will by now have semen samples from the rape. And why did this guy flee on the very first ferry in the morning. He will find out all about rape when he gets to Bangkok Hilton.

As his friend pointed out a few pages back he didn't flee. He went to meet his brother and has since been helping the police with their investigation.

Agree

All I know is that Thailand is a huge country geographically. From that island to Bangkok is some considerable distance requiring different modes of travel and I certainly would want an early start. Don't know what time the next ferry would be, so, I take the word of the friend at this stage. Anyway, setting out at 6am in a warm country is not unusual.

My wife and I took the night sleeper ferry from Koh Tao that gets in around 0500 I think, then a bus trip that departed around 0700, we got to the Bus Station in Bangkok around 1500, so it's far from a quick trip, on the way there we left Kho San Road by bus around 2200 and got to Chumpon I think around 0500 and the ferry to the Island and were there around 0830, weather conditions at the time also has significant changes to timings etc, and the ticket offices on the Island advise leaving the Island in plenty of time.

[ikbenhet]

Just found a better picture

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2758358/Shirtless-prime-suspect-caught-CCTV-near-Thai-beach-party-two-British-tourists-bludgeoned-death-island.html

Daily mail blocked in Thailand due to the "decadent dog party story"

No problem to go to daily mail with 3bb.

[apalink_thailand]

Oh the irony!!

After all the posts here about the violent Thais and the not to be trusted Burmese, what an anticlimax if the culprit is a fellow Brit .

Another news reports that this other fellow is German. The Thai News reporter bolloxed up the name. His surname is "Ware"

[wandasloan]

Mate a Thai on a two day Yabba or Ice bender is more than capable of doing this in a moment of drug induced madness

I'm not sure why you think you are disagreeing with me, since that is one of several things I stipulated. Unlike the Official Thai Visa Committee On All Criminals Are Thai But All Thais Are Criminals, I don't mind waiting to see who actually did this terrible thing. But the idea it is automatically a Thai was and is and remains... well, yes, inane. All countries have prisons, for one common but excellent reason. Some of the worst prisoners in those gaols aren't Thai.

Maybe I should try to just make one point per post next time so as not to confuse.

Whoops, I just made two. Oh-oh.

.

[chiang mai]

Sad to see so many posters here taking the opportunity to bash Thailand from any angle, the police, the news reports, the investigation, perhaps the most remarkable one was where a poster wished that the UK police had been asked to investigate, how arrogant is that!

And for the poster who asked the question, should we demand the same penalty for a farang murderer as a local one, no, the penalty should be increased because the assumed educational levels are higher in the UK than in Thailand, a Brit murderer really would have had every opportunity to learn that what he had doing was wrong.

You obviously have little experience with the BIB. Ever heard of Kirsty Jones? Or several other massively high profile cases where the BIB have been proven to be completely and utterly inept at solving this type of violent crime.

The one about the policeman who shot a toruist in the head, was then bailed, threatened all the witnesses while on bail, got away with it, and was then found guiilty of shooting his wife was also a good and very unfunny one.

They won't have any reasonable forensics or evidence gathering to a western standard. Guaranteed. And so far they are working on the, "she had a lot of boyfriends and were out late so were asking for it" line.

Yes, UK police and forensic work is very advanced, the Thai equivalent is less so. But life is a series of trade offs, if people want to live in a society where those things are important, they shouldn't live or visit here. Suggesting that the UK police should be called in to investigate a crime in Thailand shows a deep lack of understanding of Thai/Asian culture, if you are suggesting such a move would be optimal I might be able to agree, if you seriously think it would be a viable and practical option, I cannot.

[mikemac]

I am quite flabbergasted by this statement in the Daily Mail article

Thailand’s prime minister, General Prayut Chan-O-Cha, yesterday appeared to blame the holidaymakers, claiming they should have known better than to leave themselves vulnerable by venturing out in the early hours on the island.

Good grief. I've never been there myself but the Daily Mail also says “the island, only three miles long “. In theory you should feel 10 times safer in a small place like that in the early hours of the morning than in Bangkok or Pattaya ? If not, then Thailand really does have a problem with safety

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2758358/British-man-questioned-two-British-tourists-death-Thailand.html

Correct, Thailand has a problem with safety. At night if we don't have customers, we close doors for fear of armed robbery. And that's on one of the 3 islands that this concerns. Loads of junkies. I've got 2 large german dogs trained to kill.

Trained to kill ? So just how many people perished during the "training" ?

[Nickymaster]

Sad to see so many posters here taking the opportunity to bash Thailand from any angle, the police, the news reports, the investigation, perhaps the most remarkable one was where a poster wished that the UK police had been asked to investigate, how arrogant is that!

And for the poster who asked the question, should we demand the same penalty for a farang murderer as a local one, no, the penalty should be increased because the assumed educational levels are higher in the UK than in Thailand, a Brit murderer really would have had every opportunity to learn that what he had doing was wrong.

You obviously have little experience with the BIB. Ever heard of Kirsty Jones? Or several other massively high profile cases where the BIB have been proven to be completely and utterly inept at solving this type of violent crime.

The one about the policeman who shot a toruist in the head, was then bailed, threatened all the witnesses while on bail, got away with it, and was then found guiilty of shooting his wife was also a good and very unfunny one.

They won't have any reasonable forensics or evidence gathering to a western standard. Guaranteed. And so far they are working on the, "she had a lot of boyfriends and were out late so were asking for it" line.

Don't forget that the Thai police force is often controlled by politicians and other influential people. Therefor investigations suddenly stop. We have seen this with the investigation into the MIB and red shirts. When Yingluck won, all investigations stopped.

I am not saying the BIB are doing a good job. In my opinion they are responsible for a lot of problems here in Thailand. If there is selective or no law enforcement, the country becomes a dangerous place to be.

[FangFerang]

I really wish when something like this happens they'd immediately invite the British to rush some of their best people to aid in the investigation.

If nothing else it would show concern, and also prove transparency in the investigation.

The last thing the Thais want is foreign involvement and transparency in any investigation. Especially from Britons or -- especially -- Scotland Yard (who both groups are famous and respected for both neutrality and impartiality). When the Blue Diamond disappeared, the Saudis sent an investigator who was murdered and the case was closed very quickly. Since then, Private Investigators are not so keen to come to Thailand simply because they have more than two neurons to rub together.

This is a hideous thing to happen, but as with most crimes in the LOS, I doubt the convictions as much as I doubt the honesty of a jet ski scam.

Edited September 17, 2014 by FangFerang

[Thai at Heart]

Sad to see so many posters here taking the opportunity to bash Thailand from any angle, the police, the news reports, the investigation, perhaps the most remarkable one was where a poster wished that the UK police had been asked to investigate, how arrogant is that!

And for the poster who asked the question, should we demand the same penalty for a farang murderer as a local one, no, the penalty should be increased because the assumed educational levels are higher in the UK than in Thailand, a Brit murderer really would have had every opportunity to learn that what he had doing was wrong.

You obviously have little experience with the BIB. Ever heard of Kirsty Jones? Or several other massively high profile cases where the BIB have been proven to be completely and utterly inept at solving this type of violent crime.

The one about the policeman who shot a toruist in the head, was then bailed, threatened all the witnesses while on bail, got away with it, and was then found guiilty of shooting his wife was also a good and very unfunny one.

They won't have any reasonable forensics or evidence gathering to a western standard. Guaranteed. And so far they are working on the, "she had a lot of boyfriends and were out late so were asking for it" line.

Agreed. Situations were happening in koh samui in the 80's when I lived there, but didn't have globalisation then.

The South had always been unstable.

How the Thais dismissed the aids virus as a foreign disease,the Saudi scam, but that Kirsty case was a real eye opener..the list is endless.. Not Thai bashing but just a realisation of what is important here and it's not foreigners.

I wish people would differentiate between what is a Thai trait whether we like it or not and actual Thai bashing for bashing sake.

I handled directly on behalf of the embassy meeting the wife of the Brit shot in Banphai last year.

I beleive she is out on bail having paid a lot of people off. She was incredibly spooky, flirted with me, and wanted me to speak to the banks and the poor mans mother.

Then three days later she was arrested and promptly bailed. Haven't heard a peep since.

[biplanebluey]

Apparently in the Thai language news the blood stained clothes were hidden in his luggage, also the guy had been raped too plus the girl had blonde hair in her hands, it's going to get interesting now for sure

So when initially interviewed his luggage wasn't searched and he's been carrying blood stained clothes around for a couple of days ?

If it is him he deserves to be caught.

This does seem unlikely - smells like a patsy rat trap?

Lets see what he has to say -

If he isn't a psycho type and claims he was framed -

"He might be telling the truth ""

Can I put something to all you guys that have been here a while------ No-one has thought of this scenario so I put it to you.

If I was walking along the beach having had a great night at some bar and wanted to walk it off a bit in the lovely moonlight night and suddenly I see a couple of bodies lying in the shadows.I rush over and see if they are dead or just unconscious and find that I now have 2 dead bodies and their blood literally "on my hands" and as stated--on my clothing---.I am sorry to say this but if I ascertained that they were both dead,I think I would be worried and want to get away from the scene as far as possible and as quick as possible.I would immediately think that I would be the prime suspect and knowing what the police investigations here are like,and knowing how the effect on Tourism would be foremost on their minds,I would cram the bloodstained clothing in the bottom of my case and FLEE,yes if you like I would PANIC.I sincerely hope this poor joker is going to get a fair and unbiased hearing. My heart goes out to the family and loved ones of the deceased couple.A wonderful holiday has gone terribly wrong for them RIP-----