DNA samples to be sought of all Koh Tao residents

[webfact]

DAY EIGHT
DNA samples to be sought of all Koh Tao residents
Anapat Deechuay,
Suwannee Bandisak
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Police are collecting DNA samples of all people on Koh Tao, an island off Surat Thani province, in a bid to find the murderers of two British tourists.

"We are getting closer to solving this case," Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said yesterday, "Now, we know for sure that the culprits are Asians".

The bodies of the two Britons were found on the island's beach early Monday.

Prawit, however, declined to give any specific timeframe for the arrest of the culprits.

"We have already dispatched experts from all relevant fields to the crime scene. They are doing their best," he said.

The brutal killings of the tourists have made headlines in both local and international media. Evidence suggests that the female victim was sexually violated.

The Office of Police Forensic Science chief, Lt-General Kamrop Panyakaew, disclosed that a unit under his office's supervision had been assigned to collect DNA samples of all people on Koh Tao.

This move is in addition to the collection of DNA samples from 30 suspects earlier.

"We will submit one set of DNA samples and wait for their results before collecting another set of samples. We will do this until we find the culprits," Colonel Chaiyasak Uakrissadathikarn, the deputy chief of the local forensic science unit, said.

Provincial Police Region 8 chief Lt-General Panya Mamen has now also ordered police to trace workers on fishing trawlers who had stopped by on Koh Tao on the day of the crime, according to Chumphon police chief Maj-General Suttinat Sudyod.

Koh Tao is also near Chumphon province. According to Suttinat, police are looking for possible clues from coastal fishermen's villages and fishing trawlers' crewmen, too.

More than 50 marine policemen used speedboats to check fishing trawlers in the area yesterday.

Surat Thani Police Station superintendent Colonel Paisal Sangthep admitted that the Bt200,000 bounty had not attracted any tip-off yet.

"If you have useful information, please come forward," he said.

An informed source said police were in the process of questioning two suspects. One of them is a Thai while the other is a migrant worker.

Entrepreneurs on Koh Tao are now being asked to increase lighting and install CCTV to help boost safety on the island.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/DNA-samples-to-be-sought-of-all-Koh-Tao-residents-30243802.html


-- The Nation 2014-09-22

[Lukecan]

If I was the killer I would of fled to Cambodia by now and paid off the local authorities there so they would hide me.

The Thai authorities are so incompetent.

[englishoak]

Hopefully this topic just became redundant

[LanceGringo]

If you have twitter, go and check Richard Barrow's tweets regarding Sean's Facebook page

[draftvader]

So this is a time warp and this announcement came out this time last week.....surely?!?

[chooka]

That could be dangerous, if the people are still on the island it may actually reveal that Thais are involved. Giving them an 8 day headstart was a bit silly.

[terryp]

about 1 week too late

[NongKhaiKid]

The other paper reports police are also ' focusing ' on footprints found near the cigarette butt on the beach.

I wonder if a mold of them was taken before everyone man and his dog trampled all over the scene or is this just another throwaway line for the BIB to cover up how lost they are ?

[HeijoshinCool]

"We are getting closer to solving this case," Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said yesterday, "Now, we know for sure that the culprits are Asians".

Yep. Now ya got it down to one in three billion.

[HeijoshinCool]

It takes 50 plus man hours for one tech to run one sample through one set of prepared instruments, if all procedures are properly adhered to and proper documentation is made.

How many people are on Koh Tao?

Anybody?

[ChrisY1]

Will they sample ALL Koh Tao residents?? ....including all those of the 3 main families?....

C'mon......!!

[Jai Dee]

Posts containing links to a facebook page and calling for other to take a look at that link have been removed as per this forum rule:

6) You will not post comments that could be reasonably construed as defamation or libel.

Defamation is the issuance of a statement about another person or business which causes that person to suffer harm. It does not have to be false to be defamatory. Libel is when the defamatory statement is published either in a drawing, painting, cinematography, film, picture or letters made visible by any means, or any other recording instruments, recording picture or letters, or by broadcasting or spreading picture, or by propagation by any other means. Defamation is both a civil and criminal charge in Thailand.

As facebook is not an accredited source of information, the information posted on that facebook page could be construed as defamatory. Thailand has tough Libel laws and save members any harm the posts have been removed. Please do not continue to link to the facebook site. Let's wait until some other news source breaks the news.

Due to the computer crime act in Thailand, it’s not wise to post screenshots of Sean McAnna’s FB page or to name the alleged killer yourself.

[englishoak]

Mirror reporter tweets.

It was an extraordinary night here on Koh Tao. As far as I can tell everyone is safe. Will update later.

[WhizBang]

Is taking DNA samples from everyone on the island even legal? Seems like a human rights violation to me.

Also, far too little, far too late. The killers are long gone. They were probably gone by the time the bodies were found.

The police handling of this case from the very beginning has been nothing but gross incompetence.

[BSJ]

As I suggested on another thread they can discount those under 10 and those over 60. So now they can discount the farang and women of any age.

At the same time they need to trackdown every Asian male who left the island that day. And that won't be easy!

[Manbing]

As I suggested on another thread they can discount those under 10 and those over 60. So now they can discount the farang and women of any age.

At the same time they need to trackdown every Asian male who left the island that day. And that won't be easy!

Once again, for those of you who have never watched CSI.

DNA evidence provides a profile that can be linked using genetic markers to other profiles. Therefore women and children, while unlikely to be perpetrators can provide links to the real perpetrator/s of the crime.

So DNA testing of babies can show the father was the person being sought. Granny Som Tam will have a close DNA profile to her murderous grandson.

[culicine]

Is taking DNA samples from everyone on the island even legal? Seems like a human rights violation to me.

Also, far too little, far too late. The killers are long gone. They were probably gone by the time the bodies were found.

The police handling of this case from the very beginning has been nothing but gross incompetence.

Surely there is a list of all residents on the island. Have everyone report to the police. See who is suspiciously absent. Start with them, and test their families and see if they can be detected as relatives and the culprits. I would be almost certain whoever did it is not on the island now.

[bannorkbannork]

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If I was the killer I would of fled to Cambodia by now and paid off the local authorities there so they would hide me.

The Thai authorities are so incompetent.

hmmm there is a 1 million baht reward to hand them in i doubt the rapist murdering scum havnt got 100 baht between them probably fisherman that swam ashore from a boat

[maco]

If I was the killer I would of fled to Cambodia by now and paid off the local authorities there so they would hide me.

The Thai authorities are so incompetent.

that will not help if family members still on island, esp mom or siblings.

[SOTIRIOS]

...according to several posts on T.V. yesterday.....'people already know what led up to this crime...and who was involved'....

...so what purpose would it serve....

[Franky Bear]

If I was the killer I would of fled to Cambodia by now and paid off the local authorities there so they would hide me.

The Thai authorities are so incompetent.

Not every Thai has the cash to do that

[ebean001]

Save all the DNA results by name and address.

[minikev]

This is good news. They are widening their search albeit a week late.

Also testing everyone on the island now gives a good possibility of a family member been tested.

[seajae]

just looked at seans twitter page, its interesting but there is no back up of why etc, hate to name someone only to be shown it isnt them. As for the death threats, a bit late after its been splashed all over the place, silly move while still on the island.

[cacruden]

If I was the killer I would of fled to Cambodia by now and paid off the local authorities there so they would hide me.

The Thai authorities are so incompetent.

You are assuming that those that did it could afford such an expensive payoff. Also if I were a police officer right now I would be on my best behaviour, not to mention such a high profile catch in support of the current Prime Minister would do a lot for ones career in the police right now.... Taking a bribe now on this specific crime.... would be VERY short-sighted....

[klauskunkel]

At the beginning of last week Thai DNA expertise and equipment was not sophisticated enough to determine Asian heritage and the BiB asked for help from the FBI. A day later the BiB could make that distinction on their own. Now they have quantum-leaped to DNA family/relations profiling...astounding! (someone must have read the manual)

[motorsaimang]

If I was the killer I would of fled to Cambodia by now and paid off the local authorities there so they would hide me.

The Thai authorities are so incompetent.

You are assuming that those that did it could afford such an expensive payoff. Also if I were a police officer right now I would be on my best behaviour, not to mention such a high profile catch in support of the current Prime Minister would do a lot for ones career in the police right now.... Taking a bribe now on this specific crime.... would be VERY short-sighted....

My interpretation of that is he meant paying the Cambodians.

[pitrevie]

Its about time that a former distinguished interior minister was brought back out of retirement to solve this case. With his determination and knowledge of criminal affairs this matter would be solved within the week or he would behead himself.

[NomadJoe]

Is taking DNA samples from everyone on the island even legal? Seems like a human rights violation to me.

Also, far too little, far too late. The killers are long gone. They were probably gone by the time the bodies were found.

The police handling of this case from the very beginning has been nothing but gross incompetence.

No such thing as human rights violations in Thailand, especially when under martial law. The constitution has been suspended.

Keep in mind too that DNA testing also has the ability to identify relatives of the killers.

[xminator]

My guess is that the "It can't be thai" attitude, allowed the killer to flee the island. Spit samples should be collected from anyone at the island as soon as the police where alerted about the murder.