Terrified Briton flees Koh Tao after 'mafia' death threat

[englishoak]

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

No suggestion the pics of a certain guy put on FB was the owner of "the AC bar" only that he was the leader of the mafia threatening sean last night.

Dosnt surprise me one is an owner of another bar, birds of a feather flock together n all that. Besides that all the business pretty much on that beach area is controlled by just one family, however its split up such as rent contracts etc etc to seem like its many different owners nothing happens in that area without the knowledge or nod from a certain family or two.

[yougivemebaby]

Reasonable explanations.

1. He's high as a kite and paranoid people are following him.

2. He's pissing people off to the point that they will kill him just to shut him up.

3. He wants attention because he's a drama queen.

If he knew who did it don't you think he would have told everyone on fb already. Best you do go home.

[blu3]

Reasonable explanations.

1. He's high as a kite and paranoid people are following him.

2. He's pissing people off to the point that they will kill him just to shut him up.

3. He wants attention because he's a drama queen.

If he knew who did it don't you think he would have told everyone on fb already. Best you do go home.

Definitely many doubts to his integrity from local farang on Koh Tao.

[Baerboxer]

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

You be the judge.

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

He looks like an extra from Hangover 2. A complete and utter goof. Making a mockery of it all.

I bet you dont look much in the morning either...

Does what someone looks like have to do with anything ? talk about easily led and shallow

Don't judge a book by its cover.

Scared out of his wits the night before, had to sleep rough and move around, knows what Thailand is really like, which would make him even more nervous.

Why the hell would he look calm, relaxed and well groomed after a night like he had?

I read his Fb page and those that know him well were very very concerned. Unlikely they would be so if he wasn't genuine - they know him we don't.

He was very precise in his comments - which understandably, knowing Thailand as he does, would have made him very worried once the penny dropped that everybody would read it. The question is does he have any evidence, did he witness anything or is it based on hearsay or conjecture. He needs to keep off the radar until he's back in Scotland.

If the RTP had some nounce they might follow up on his comments. Or perhaps that's why they are wanting to DNA all the men, so they won't have to front anybody just yet.

If he's made all this up, just to get some attention, some money or a free ride home, then he's a very sad individual who is going to have real problems with family, friends, the press, and may face charges for wasting police time. We shall see.

Edited September 22, 2014 by Baerboxer

[RogueLeader]

Reasonable explanations.

1. He's high as a kite and paranoid people are following him.

2. He's pissing people off to the point that they will kill him just to shut him up.

3. He wants attention because he's a drama queen.

If he knew who did it don't you think he would have told everyone on fb already. Best you do go home.

Definitely many doubts to his integrity from local farang on Koh Tao.

Ah, well. That changes everything. If the thailand expat sweetie-wife gossip mill has taken against him, why bother with a trial?

[Chutney]

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

All due respect but 'successful' business persons often own more than one outfit and there are always pretty tortuous multiple partnership deals in Thai 'commerce'. I can't count the number of 10th shares in a restaurant or part ownership of a bungalow set up or half share in a resort etc I've been offered . it's never simple and I have always turned down nicely these wonderful 'opportunities'. * shudder*.

[yougivemebaby]

I did just see his interview and he does look and sound legit scared.

[JoeLing]

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!!

.

You might be right for Phuket or Pattaya but here on the islands, we don't have any highrise buildings ....

BTW - I read not that long ago a statistic, hanging is Thai's favorite way of suicide.

Edited September 22, 2014 by JoeLing

[rainman333]

seems like you can't believe anything you read about this case anymore

[pasak]

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.

People can influence things by talking to others, once it becomes common enough knowledge thats that.

Its amazing how thick some posters can be.... especially the rose glass wearing ones, they really seem to think Thailand is run like a western democratic system... with western values, western thought process, western morals ...

Those who think sean is lying need to get out more here , its exactly what Thailand has been trying to point the finger at, a foreigner since it began and some think this is a made up story ?... oh boy do you not have a clue about Thailand.

Spread the word englishoak. And along with KT you can include Samui, Phangnan & Phuket - all a crock of <deleted>. Hookers, mafia, overcharging, food laced with MSG, cr@p service - you name it.

Come on guys, wake up to these places and take your hard earned elsewhere.

"...Its amazing how thick some posters can be..." and the rest !

[dondon950]

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

No suggestion the pics of a certain guy put on FB was the owner of "the AC bar" only that he was the leader of the mafia threatening sean last night.

Dosnt surprise me one is an owner of another bar, birds of a feather flock together n all that. Besides that all the business pretty much on that beach area is controlled by just one family, however its split up such as rent contracts etc etc to seem like its many different owners nothing happens in that area without the knowledge or nod from a certain family or two.

Maybe the way it was worded then.. many people believe that was a photo of the bar owner. Am in no way implying the threat wasn't there though... unless proved otherwise

[englishoak]

You'll notice that none of the Thai news is carrying this line as yet ......... seeing as they have carried every other scenario however thin on leads involving the possibility of a non Thai you have to wonder ...

[ozzyrules]

Well its pretty simple what needs to be done now,

The men posted in the photo need to be DNA tested...

The footage from 7/11 needs to be viewed..

I saw rhe photo from 7/11 was quite scary...

Then simply DNA everyone on the island for a family connection to the DNA..

[tomyummer]

Wow this case gets crazier by the minute. So sorry for the families to have to live through this circus day by day.

[ozzyrules]

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

No suggestion the pics of a certain guy put on FB was the owner of "the AC bar" only that he was the leader of the mafia threatening sean last night.

Dosnt surprise me one is an owner of another bar, birds of a feather flock together n all that. Besides that all the business pretty much on that beach area is controlled by just one family, however its split up such as rent contracts etc etc to seem like its many different owners nothing happens in that area without the knowledge or nod from a certain family or two.

Maybe the way it was worded then.. many people believe that was a photo of the bar owner. Am in no way implying the threat wasn't there though... unless proved otherwise

Actually what transpired was...

He first posted The owner of AC bar did it...

Then he posted the photos saying the guy on the left is the leader...

It's all been deleted, but the guy in the alleged photo fron 7/11 is 100% The guy in the crime scene shots with the bad (guilty) body language next to the cops in dark glasses...you decide...let's see the alleged footage of them chasing this guy into 7/11 and waiting outside for 2 hours...

[les Dennis]

I for one admire K Sean as l truly believe he is the only one who has had the guts to speak the truth. Im glad hes safe now and hopefully we can get some closure and arrests on this tragedy.

[2befrank]

We keep seeing this 7/11 being brought up.

There was never any mention of 7/11 in any reports i have seen, it may well have been a mom and pop store for all we know and one thing that would reinforce that fact is that nowhere is it mentioned that police are reviewing CCTV footage... If it was indeed a 7/11 or even a family mart, then you would expect multiple CCTV evidence of the the incident.

That means there is very little chance of it actually being one of the big chains, and even more likely to be a humble mom and pop shop.

I also laugh at the amount of people saying he is making this up... I mean, come on for crying out loud. Who in their right mind would be making this up? There is a shop keeper to verify all this as well as witnesses in the bar who could not miss a farang fleeing out the bar with Thai men in hot pursuit and the reporters are actually helping with this fantasy?... they did after all comment that police interviewed the Thai men but allowed them to go..... So now Mainstream media staff are lying???

Thai men would never threaten to kill you, or hang you... they just don't do that?.... Erm, so what would they do then?.... shoot him there and then in the bar? Can't you lot read?.... The guy was sat down by these Thais in the bar and questioned to see what he knew about the murders, then lost the plot and started threatening him. You trying to tell me that Thai guys late at night in a bar are fully composed and collected and always pick the correct methods of engagement.. They are all really pro hitmen? You must be living in a totally different Thailand to me. Most Thai I engage with late at night can't keep their stupid gobs shut, and that's why i tend to avoid them like a dose of the clap.

[MW72]

He looks like an extra from Hangover 2. A complete and utter goof. Making a mockery of it all.

I bet you dont look much either...

<deleted> does what someone looks like have to do with anything ? stuck up much ?

Yea, when you mumble along through an interview sounding more incoherent than Cheech and Chong, it does tend to influence judgments about your credibility.

I just watched the video and there was no mumbling and he was quite coherent. Maybe you just don't understand him because he is from Shotts in Glasgow. I understood him perfectly. As to the truth of what he is saying I couldn't comment as I don't know the guy. Just because he doesn't dress the way you do doesn't make him a poor witness. If I am ever on trial for anything I hope you are not on the jury as you seem to base your assumptions on how someone looks.

[balo]

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.

No you are talkinjg BS.

Most phones locals use do have internet so it would have been easy for him to chat with his family on voice apps like LINE or Skype,

[TacoHell]

seems perfectly sane to me

[2befrank]

Anyhow. I messaged him on FB offering him a safe place to stay if he is stuck for somewhere to go.

It puts about 1000KM between KT and our place in Korat.

This guy could actually hold key knowledge to the identity of the murderers or at least hold information that could lead down the correct trail. I think as a community we have the responsibility to do what we can to look after our own.

Before anyone says anything about putting myself potentially in danger..... Thanks.... I will take my chances. My Thai family is also well connected. They can take care of any dodgy business in their own dodgy way.

[oldsailor35]

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 ?

i like this , but where did you get 5 important families from ???

Previously we were told that 3 powerful families "own" the island and its police, now you have found 2 more families, where did you learn this and can you please name them.

[SlideRiceFC]

We keep seeing this 7/11 being brought up.

There was never any mention of 7/11 in any reports i have seen, it may well have been a mom and pop store for all we know and one thing that would reinforce that fact is that nowhere is it mentioned that police are reviewing CCTV footage... If it was indeed a 7/11 or even a family mart, then you would expect multiple CCTV evidence of the the incident.

I first read about this from a fb link to mirror.co.uk and I'm fairly sure it said 7-11 in the article because I watched the video embedded in the article and he says, "they chased me into a shop" and I thought well, he didn't say it was a 7-11 but I dismissed it thinking they clearly got more info than what was included in the video. But now I see the article says "24-hour convenience shop" so perhaps they realized and corrected their error. I'm pretty sure that's where the references to 7-11 are popping up from though...early news that has since been changed.

I've never been to Koh Tao but around here mom and pop shops aren't open at 2:40AM but I suppose island life could differ. One would think a 24 hour store would have CCTV and I hope you are right about them reviewing footage as well as interviewing the staff.

[oldsailor35]

Now maybe the world can have some idea of just how corrupt the Royal Thai Police really are.

[Neilly]

seems perfectly sane to me

Glad to see he had time to have his hair cut before leaving the island

[oldsailor35]

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.

I think he just used the phone to call the BiB and took some pics.

[oldsailor35]

And now the Royal Thai Police have just told all and sundry that their next move is to DNA test all males. Why oh why can't they just keep their mouths shut and get on with it quietly !

Edited September 22, 2014 by oldsailor35

[aTomsLife]

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.

Al Capone was adored, too.

[khunpa]

And now the Royal Thai Police have just told all and sundry that their next move is to DNA test all males. Why oh why can't they just keep their mouths shut and get on with it quietly !

Yes, wonder why ;-)

[mataleo]

From his twitter fun in past

Irony?