Terrified Briton flees Koh Tao after 'mafia' death threat

[littlebw]

Why would Sean bullshit and put his life in danger?

defo spooked and if I had been threatened I would have put pics up etc and gone into hiding until I could get out of there

[Fat Haggis]

How many 7/11 workers could you borrow a phone from that have INTERNATIONAL call availability, to call your mum and sister?

BS - He's lying.

How many 7/11 workers do you know that have enough credit to call International numbers?

Even my own wife rarely has anymore then 200-300 baht credit on her phone, and I don't tend to have much more in mine either when I'm at home.

If you dial 006 it costs 3 baht a minute to a landline. . Hmm even on 100 Baht you could speak gor more than 30 minutes. Also he was in a shop that may sell top up, so you assume he is lying. Great, glad you aren't running this investigation.

I never knew that about the 006 I wish I had known about it before, it would have saved me a fortune .. thanks for the top tip, you learn something new every day, is that any landline though, even UK/Aus/USA??

I don't assume he was lying, I posted that in haste, I actually think he's telling the truth, do you honestly think he would put that much attention on himself, to be exposed as a liar? Seems a bit bizzarre to me if he did.. but the truth will come out, unless the BiB have already "taken care" of the persons he named DNA samples.

[RogueLeader]

I hope your sons or brothers are never in this position, in a foreign country hounded by gangsters and refused protection from the police. You who sit in your condos and guesthouses crowing that this boy is lying, I hope you never know what that feels like.

[MJP]

^^ He'll probably say a lot more once out of the country.

[Sampradaya]

Is this why there are so many "suicides" ??

So this is how its done!

[MJP]

Is this why there are so many "suicides" ??

So this is how its done!

That and diving out of high rise buildings.

[englishoak]

Really think this is the best lead by far since the event happened.

Its gone viral, and all over the international papers, not a word funny enough in one Thai paper tho ... yet....

[JOC]

How many 7/11 workers could you borrow a phone from that have INTERNATIONAL call availability, to call your mum and sister?

BS - He's lying.

How many 7/11 workers do you know that have enough credit to call International numbers?

Even my own wife rarely has anymore then 200-300 baht credit on her phone, and I don't tend to have much more in mine either when I'm at home.

If you dial 006 it costs 3 baht a minute to a landline. . Hmm even on 100 Baht you could speak for more than 30 minutes. Also he was in a shop that may sell top ups. So from this you assume he is lying. Good work Sherlock! Glad you aren't running this investigation.

More and more funny by the minute!!

So this guy is running for his life with the bloodthirsty Thai mafia hot on his heels. Runs to a convenience story, buys a top up, takes a pic of the mafiaguys, connects to his FB account and post the pics. During all this time the "mafia" is patiently waiting outside for the police to arrive an hour later!!

Biggest give-away is the claim, that they threatened to kill him by hanging?? Anyone a little familar with Thai ways, would know a threat of a knife or a gun, absolutely yes. But hanging, never ever!!

[penoirz]

These mafia guys are not very good at their job if they went after Sean, cornered him in a shop, let him take their photo and then let him flee from behind the counter and I'm presumiing out past them, through the front door

[aTomsLife]

How many 7/11 workers could you borrow a phone from that have INTERNATIONAL call availability, to call your mum and sister?

BS - He's lying.

There are apps for that, Sherlock.

[aussiebrian]

How many 7/11 workers could you borrow a phone from that have INTERNATIONAL call availability, to call your mum and sister?

BS - He's lying.

How many 7/11 workers do you know that have enough credit to call International numbers?

Even my own wife rarely has anymore then 200-300 baht credit on her phone, and I don't tend to have much more in mine either when I'm at home.

If you dial 006 it costs 3 baht a minute to a landline. . Hmm even on 100 Baht you could speak gor more than 30 minutes. Also he was in a shop that may sell top up, so you assume he is lying. Great, glad you aren't running this investigation.

I never knew that about the 006 I wish I had known about it before, it would have saved me a fortune .. thanks for the top tip, you learn something new every day, is that any landline though, even UK/Aus/USA??

I don't assume he was lying, I posted that in haste, I actually think he's telling the truth, do you honestly think he would put that much attention on himself, to be exposed as a liar? Seems a bit bizzarre to me if he did.. but the truth will come out, unless the BiB have already "taken care" of the persons he named DNA samples.

I am glad he has been cleared by you now, so will give you some information. Up to 1 month ago you could call True to landline for 1 baht a min. Look how much you could have saved.

AIS 00500 is a high quality and inexpensive international call service. Rates start at only 3 Baht per minute. We provide high quality communications together with crystal clear sound quality covering over 230 destinations worldwide. 3 baht a min http://www.ais.co.th/00500/en/news/3/Easy

True What is true 006 service?

A1

true 006 is the premium grade international direct dialing service (IDD) via 006 prefix. This service offers an unparalleled service with crystal clear signal without any delay or dropped calls due to high quality transmission technology, Time Division Multiplexing (TDM). Network coverage covers 230 destinations worldwide. http://www3.truecorp.co.th/idd006/en/faqs.html

Yes UK/USA and Au,

[Chutney]

The photo he took in the convience store, matched with a photo at the crime scene.

So why is a local bar owner at the crime scene ? Perhaps he's also a detective in the police force, I've heard of police owning other business as well so I guess it's not beyond a possibility ?

If he's not a police officer than I have no idea what he was doing there but there should be some kind of speculation.

I do remember reading a comment somewhere last week where someone said 'the guy that did it is in the video' but I can't remember which video this was referring to or where I read it.

That was on here but there's been so many threads and such a massive amount of comments together with mod deletions I'd have no clue where to find that now. Pity because in amongst all the arguments and idle speculation there were some very solid posts from people whose personal experiences strongly supported this scenario right from the start. A newbie poster who had emails from friends working as bar staff who left due to no work visas and told him it was known who it was and that he was in the video. That video the still is lifted from was shown on the first day when this broke. At least it is getting into the public domain now via media.

[BuckBee]

I Wouldnt ever be going back to Koh Tao, not now its clear how much Thais there care about the truth vs their pockets. ill happily tell others to avoid KT at all costs, its crap for diving as they have killed off most of the sealife years ago and thats really the only reason to be on KT its not phi phi or samui.. go somewhere else safer not so corrupt and spend the cash there.

Not just Koh Toa, the complete country is a sewer of crime.

Best thing people can do is avoid Thailand full stop, no holidays & no investment/ businesses & hit Thailand where it hurts most, their wallet ...

[2befrank]

How many 7/11 workers could you borrow a phone from that have INTERNATIONAL call availability, to call your mum and sister?

BS - He's lying.

Erm..... Who said it was a 7/11?????

Also...... I would say every smartphone or mobile phone is capable of making international calls.

It was more than capable of uploading pictures and messages to a facebook account.

Also..... ever heard of skype??????

I think it is time you dragged your ass back into your cave.

[Fat Haggis]

How many 7/11 workers could you borrow a phone from that have INTERNATIONAL call availability, to call your mum and sister?

BS - He's lying.

How many 7/11 workers do you know that have enough credit to call International numbers?

Even my own wife rarely has anymore then 200-300 baht credit on her phone, and I don't tend to have much more in mine either when I'm at home.

If you dial 006 it costs 3 baht a minute to a landline. . Hmm even on 100 Baht you could speak for more than 30 minutes. Also he was in a shop that may sell top ups. So from this you assume he is lying. Good work Sherlock! Glad you aren't running this investigation.

More and more funny by the minute!!

So this guy is running for his life with the bloodthirsty Thai mafia hot on his heels. Runs to a convenience story, buys a top up, takes a pic of the mafiaguys, connects to his FB account and post the pics. During all this time the "mafia" is patiently waiting outside for the police to arrive an hour later!!

Biggest give-away is the claim, that they threatened to kill him by hanging?? Anyone a little familar with Thai ways, would know a threat of a knife or a gun, absolutely yes. But hanging, never ever!!

So hanging him to make it look like a suicide that he was so distraught over the death of his friend, doesn't enter into that tiny teeny weeny wee closed mind of yours then?

[khunpa]

I have no doubt this kid has been scared in some way. But if this was real serious, then the mafia guys would not have threatened him first. They would just have done it, if they really wanted to kill him. There is something strange to this. Why does he not just tell in detail what he claims to know? If he should get killed, then at least he has told all he knows. It really does not make sense to me.

Edited September 22, 2014 by khunpa

[Thanet]

So they're still trying to pin it on a foreigner.

I don't see why the new Prime Minister doesn't send the army into this lawless place and audit everyone who lives there to weed out the seemingly endemic corruption.

Martial law is still in effect isn't it ?

Who are these 5 families who are so important that even the prime minister can't touch them ?

Well observed, and it does smell a bit fishy, especially now that corruption in Thailand is a thing of the past.

Edited September 22, 2014 by Thanet

[jabis]

The photo he took in the convience store, matched with a photo at the crime scene.

So why is a local bar owner at the crime scene ? Perhaps he's also a detective in the police force, I've heard of police owning other business as well so I guess it's not beyond a possibility ?

If he's not a police officer than I have no idea what he was doing there but there should be some kind of speculation.

I do remember reading a comment somewhere last week where someone said 'the guy that did it is in the video' but I can't remember which video this was referring to or where I read it.

That was on here but there's been so many threads and such a massive amount of comments together with mod deletions I'd have no clue where to find that now. Pity because in amongst all the arguments and idle speculation there were some very solid posts from people whose personal experiences strongly supported this scenario right from the start. A newbie poster who had emails from friends working as bar staff who left due to no work visas and told him it was known who it was and that he was in the video. That video the still is lifted from was shown on the first day when this broke. At least it is getting into the public domain now via media.

The low resolution video where the matching footage is here, for original perhaps some Sky HD subscriber could provide it (it's ~5 secs into the feed)?(courtesy of TOMO NEWS)

And here is the link to slightly better quality still excerpted from the video: http://1-ps.googleusercontent.com/x/www.thaivisa.com/news.asiaone.com/sites/default/files/styles/full_left_image-630x411/public/original_images/Sep2014/x20140916_KohTao.jpg,qitok=g42tgwfa.pagespeed.ic._yECoJiyOI.webp (courtesy of nation)

There are a couple of images in twittersphere circulating, just search for the farang, who was allegedly threatened, by his full name.

Edited September 22, 2014 by jabis

[Fat Haggis]

There has been something strange about this from day one, in that the BiB instantly said it was a farang and they were looking for his friends, and said it was a crime of passion.

The never bothered sealing off the crime scene either, every Tom, Dick and Harry was walking all over it.

The Thai aologists were also out in force when even very early on, there was mentions of an altercation between the victims and a local "person of influence" they ridiculed these issues, and then began to lambast every other person who didn't agree with them, some even being so arrogant as to say "you don't understand Thais" as if to say they are in a superior position to make judgements, sorry but that's utter pish, I can spend 5 minutes in someones company to make a decision that he's a knobend.. I don't need to have lived in his country to come to that conclusion..

[aussiebrian]

How many 7/11 workers could you borrow a phone from that have INTERNATIONAL call availability, to call your mum and sister?

BS - He's lying.

How many 7/11 workers do you know that have enough credit to call International numbers?

Even my own wife rarely has anymore then 200-300 baht credit on her phone, and I don't tend to have much more in mine either when I'm at home.

If you dial 006 it costs 3 baht a minute to a landline. . Hmm even on 100 Baht you could speak for more than 30 minutes. Also he was in a shop that may sell top ups. So from this you assume he is lying. Good work Sherlock! Glad you aren't running this investigation.

More and more funny by the minute!!

So this guy is running for his life with the bloodthirsty Thai mafia hot on his heels. Runs to a convenience story, buys a top up, takes a pic of the mafiaguys, connects to his FB account and post the pics. During all this time the "mafia" is patiently waiting outside for the police to arrive an hour later!!

Biggest give-away is the claim, that they threatened to kill him by hanging?? Anyone a little familar with Thai ways, would know a threat of a knife or a gun, absolutely yes. But hanging, never ever!!

Maybe he didn't need to buy a top up, only if there was no money in the persons account. But according to the report he ran there around 2.30am police arrive around 4.am I think that gives him plenty of time to even buy a top up if needed.

And yes, hanging is also not unheard of. I remember an American actor, David Carradine was found with his hands tied behind his back and supposed to have suicided by hanging himself. Many people including one of his ex wives believed he was murdered. There was another guy that hanged himself in a sitting position.Sure there are many more cases too.

Edited September 22, 2014 by aussiebrian

[Chutney]

This is all over Facebook. I don't understand why he didn't contact somebody off island if he has legit information!

He did.

The press.

His family. (Who contacted the British Embassy)

His friends.

There were posts during the time he was in the market.

Stating that the thugs were outside.

I read all of his posts on Facebook before the British Embassy told him to remove them.

(After they got back to him)

Along with the photos.

I have screenshots...

I second that but don't have screenshots apart from the picture he took of the two guys. It's abundantly obvious the one on the left is the same as the person on the left of the police on the beach.

Also from the facebook dialogue it was documented that his close friends and family got onto Embassy, Media and Police straight away. Not to mention that many of us who saw it unfold shared it. Without that instant worldwide publication it might have ended very differently. Frankly it was probably the brightest move he could have made and certainly the only time I've felt Facebook was useful!

[dondon950]

Apparently pics are not the owners of 'said bar'.. one person identified as owner of another bar. Make of that what you will..

[Loptr]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/11113386/British-backpacker-describes-terror-after-Thai-mafia-death-threat.html

You be the judge.

Good lord, the conspiracy theorists are really scraping the bottom of the barrel on this one, whatever happened to real journalism.

Real journalism died around 1970... Where have you been?

[kingalfred]

Reminds us of the "wicker man" where all inhabitants knew the killer but would not divulge.

Edited September 22, 2014 by kingalfred

[Loptr]

Small island, big mafia. Take this place off your travel plan.

Mafiosos of one type or another are around every major tourist destination in the world... Graft is easy money for those catering to holiday makers... The difference is when the local heavies decide they can rape and murder the tourists that butter their bread, then pull strings to get away with it... The plod knows who did the deed, along with most locals on the island I would expect... They aren't going to talk though due to fear of retribution or being complicit... Another day in paradise, ain't it grand....

[blu3]

Richard Barrows posts an update from the Koh Tao Community Board on Facebook stating Sean's claims are factually incorrect:

https://twitter.com/DotKohTao/status/514070543964721152/photo/1

In fact when, making the accusations, he in fact pointed out the owner of In Touch on his earlier FB comments a a possible culprit (Quote "the guy on the left"). I can categorically state that the owner of In Touch is one of the most decent, honest individuals on the island.

Quite a lot of support for that post in the group.

[JoeLing]

A lot of this I mentioned already in other threads and the longer this farce is going on, the

​more it seems, I might not be that wrong with my "assumptions"

I hope people don't suddenly think there could be some very, very powerful people with some

real spoiled kids here on the islands under the protection of even bigger friends high up? Well,

even higher up. Don't think things like that couldn't happen, now could we?

IF and I don't suggest it is, there is some island "family" involvement, every family would be

involved by now and most likely be a silent wall to the "outsiders". Even if they might find a

"scape goat" to satisfy "outsiders" I'm fairly sure the culprits IF local, will NOT get away with

it. Too much at stake and not just money. Lets say a bit like "same, same" as Cosa Nostra

but "different". Not at all same as BKK, Phuket, Pattaya or even the bigger sister island Koh

Samui, which is much more close and "connected" with the mainland.

Now don't think those clans are just a few local fisherman, coconut farmers or 'druggies".

Sure there might be a couple but many are very successful and educated business men,

not stupid or crooks and are sure very much aware of the implications if this doesn't get

sorted in a way or another. Islanders all over the world have since generations sorted out

their own "problems" and got away with it as long it didn't involve the outside. I'm sure,

justice will be served eventually, maybe just not for "outsiders" to know.

Same applies to some of the small, more secluded beaches here on the islands with their

own "governor". Even disputes "who is the boss" will be settled within their "seclusion" and

nothing will be known 10 miles away. I've been there, I know what it feels to be threatened

by a crazy Thai on yaba, I know what it feels having a loaded weapon pointed at my brain.

I instantly moved out and found safety by one of the "Thai Family" right next door. Sure it

could have gone badly wrong for me too and I can guarantee you, if it would have happen,

the same Family who gave me protection would have protected him now.

Now as Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said: "Sometimes it's not good to speak too much ..."

After all, talking badly about a man's island is a little like taking badly about his children. - My

kids may be rotten to the core (I promise they weren't …. at least most of the time ), but while

I'm allowed to say so you, most assuredly, are not.

Edited September 22, 2014 by JoeLing

[Gallstone]

He is claiming he was threatened because it is a safe way off the island if he tells the media.

The threat that he alleges is too detailed for an average farang/uneducated or even averagely educated thai to be understood as fully as he describes.

If the Thai mafia guys wanted to hang him then they would have just done it. Why on earth just threaten to kill him instead of just doing it -what is the point?

I smell BS and he should be held and questioned further.

[RogueLeader]

How many 7/11 workers could you borrow a phone from that have INTERNATIONAL call availability, to call your mum and sister?

BS - He's lying.

How many 7/11 workers do you know that have enough credit to call International numbers?

Even my own wife rarely has anymore then 200-300 baht credit on her phone, and I don't tend to have much more in mine either when I'm at home.

If you dial 006 it costs 3 baht a minute to a landline. . Hmm even on 100 Baht you could speak for more than 30 minutes. Also he was in a shop that may sell top ups. So from this you assume he is lying. Good work Sherlock! Glad you aren't running this investigation.

More and more funny by the minute!!

So this guy is running for his life with the bloodthirsty Thai mafia hot on his heels. Runs to a convenience story, buys a top up, takes a pic of the mafiaguys, connects to his FB account and post the pics. During all this time the "mafia" is patiently waiting outside for the police to arrive an hour later!!

Biggest give-away is the claim, that they threatened to kill him by hanging?? Anyone a little familar with Thai ways, would know a threat of a knife or a gun, absolutely yes. But hanging, never ever!!

I can't adequately express my contempt for this post.

[kimamey]

Headline says he knows who the killer is, body says he thinks other people might know.

There seems to be a bit of disagreement on the ferry he left on as well unless I'm reading incorrectly.