Southern police chief: Enough evidence in British tourists' murder case to make arrest now

[bkkgooner]

The brother of the village chief

2014 and there are still 'village chiefs' has there ever been a position in Thailand so utterly interlinked and embedded with corruption than that of the local chief

[Thai at Heart]

I have been following this with great interest for the last week , is anyone able to confirm that the man on the left of SM 's 7/11 picture

is the same man seen hanging around with the police at the crime scene on day one ?

And , is there any truth in the statement that two men in SM's 7/11 picture refused to be DNA tested .

Refusing a DNA test doesn't indicate guilt.

Would you want the bib to have a sample of your dna?

On the basis that they will fit you up whether you did it or not, I doubt it makes any difference whatsoever.

They can fabricate it once they have you in custody anyway.

[Globeman]

He is the brother of a village headman in Koh Tao.

He also said another suspect is also a son of that village headman. But he has already to Bangkok.

Wow...impressed !!! Not what I was expecting at all

it is possible that a local village chief in Koh Tao may be an untouchable big cheese in his own little fiefdom, but when up against a case as big as this, with national police involved, the rank means little ... leaving the authorities no choice but to break tradition and arrest someone of "influence". Let's hope this is the case.

[crazykopite]

If this self appointed PM wants to show he means business he needs to clean up those families who run Koh Tao, Koh Phangan and Koh Samui for to long they have run these islands as they see fit ,the local police are in there back pockets they to should be moved on maybe it would be a good idea to move the army onto these islands for 6 months to clean up all the corruption that is going on. Having read the report if they are related to the head of the village then they are not your everyday poor working Thai . Why have they not released pictures yet they were quick to do so when they arrested Mr Millers friend Oh yes they are Thai nationals they would never commit such terrible crimes !

[mango66]

He is the brother of a village headman in Koh Tao.

He also said another suspect is also a son of that village headman. But he has already to Bangkok.

Wow...impressed !!! Not what I was expecting at all

Really?

This is exactly what I suspected.

Koh Tao is a lawless place where influential people can pretty much do as they please with impunity, and have done for a long time.

If the police had not focussed only on foreigners and Burmese fisherman because they said that there was no way a Thai could be responsible, they may have solved this a week go.

Local people must have spoken up, and if these guys did in fact do it, I am glad the police caught them...although one wonders without the glare of the International media, would they have solved it...before the next "crime du jour" captured everyones attention.

Next stage is the punishment as the world watches...death penalty reduced to life in prison for the confession?

and on trial reduced to 12 days community clean up of the beach , as of good cooperation in finding the truth;

like with the girl driver in BKK which crashed down the van with 12 people !!

[iReason]

"Instead the police will eliminate all these mafias, he said."

Oh, so there are mafias?

"On arriving the day after the murders, the senior police officer on the island assured us the culprit could not have been a Thai person."

"No Thai could possibly commit such a crime. he said." (BBC)

Oh, so they are Thais?

Finally, I agree with something these Clouseaus have said:

"... the police will eliminate all these mafias"

Right.

As the Joker said; "Bad choice of words"...

Edited September 23, 2014 by iReason

[Baerboxer]

One tourist murder suspect now arrested, another on the run

KOH TAO: -- The police have arrested a suspect in the murder of two British tourists in Koh Tao and are still hunting for a second suspect who has escaped into Bangkok.

Eighth Region Police Command commissioner Pol Lt-Gen Panya Mamen identified the first suspect as Mon.

He is the brother of a village headman in Koh Tao.

He was arrested after evidence which police collected were examined and proved he was involved, he said.

He also said another suspect is also a son of that village headman. But he has already to Bangkok.

He said both suspects were captured by CCTV cameras and the police have gathered enough evidence to implicate them in the murders.

He said the southern police were coordinating with the metropolitan police to hunt him down, and expected to apprehend him today.

The southern police chief also assured the public that there was no arrest of scapegoats in this murder case as it now is a focal attention of the world.

He also dismissed any suggestion of local mafias or influential people that could twist the investigation with promise that local influence would pose no obstacle to the police investigation.

Instead the police will eliminate all these mafias, he said.

Meanwhile a police source said the police are also looking into the cooperation of those who helped to arrange the suspect to escape. They also will be arrested.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/one-tourist-murder-suspect-now-arrested-another-run/

-- Thai PBS 2014-09-23

Good news. The bit about arresting those who helped one escape the island is also encouraging. Hope the one on the run is captured quickly.

If they are formally charged, prosecuted and convicted then we have to hope the sentence reflects the gravity of this vicious attack; not sentenced to life which is then reduced to a slap on the wrist on appeal.

The crime was horrific enough to warrant the death penalty, even if it is commuted to life without possibility of parole.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Baerboxer

[Chutney]

SO Sean McAnna gets his reward then, and hopefully thousands of apologetic posts from those who doubted him.

I doubt he'll see the reward frankly. All he had really said was that the two men in his photograph knew who did it. If the police have not directly confirmed information from those particular people led to arrests he won't be eligible. No way are the police going to say any such thing.

[ezzra]

See? I told the BIB can do it... kudos BIB... well done...

[Iumentum]

SO Sean McAnna gets his reward then, and hopefully thousands of apologetic posts from those who doubted him.

As i tried to say so many times in other thread, some people should be ashamed to jump to conclusion about his credibility. Some very nasty and obnoxious armchair investigators might end up having a very bad taste in their mouth.

[SirBser]

The village headman is also the owner of a bar there, he can keep his bar open all night long why because he's the village chief.

Which bar!? Is it AC or the other one ( cannot remember the name now sorry) which was mentioned as being owned/run by the man in those Sean Mcanna photos?

Yup. I said this all along, people doubted me etc.

In Thai they call him 'PU YAI'

village chief!

I'm pretty sure the brother and son where at AC bar that night.

Edited September 23, 2014 by SirBser

[ChrisY1]

children of the headman ...untouchables (or so they thought) if this is true this will ramifications on KT

Yes.....children of village headman........they also may have been bar owners....

[jimbeam1]

Why on earth do they give them the heads up like this?

What odds - The culprits have left the country and are currently in Cambodia.

What odds they are the village Idiots been sold down the river by their families?

All we are waiting for now is the all new DNA to cone through.

jb1

[Chang_paarp]

He is the brother of a village headman in Koh Tao.

He was arrested after evidence which police collected were examined and proved he was involved, he said.

He also said another suspect is also a son of that village headman. But he has already to Bangkok.

If this data was not obvious from the DNA results, there are some issues within that family that they will not want aired publicly.

Alternatively the police did actually keep something quiet during this investigation.

[Costas2008]

Rejoice, you miserable people.

The murderers have been caught.

CONGRATULATIONS to the Thai police force.

A job well done.

My condolences again to the families of the victims.

May they rest in peace, their murderers have been apprehended.

[almafudd]

SO Sean McAnna gets his reward then, and hopefully thousands of apologetic posts from those who doubted him.

I doubt he'll see the reward frankly. All he had really said was that the two men in his photograph knew who did it. If the police have not directly confirmed information from those particular people led to arrests he won't be eligible. No way are the police going to say any such thing.

I can't see the bib / rtp handing over their "excellent detective skills and work ethic bonus" to a westerner!

[mango66]

if it was not the mafia,

maybee they were now " cooperating " to find the culptries,

as it would not tuch there business in KT and Samui;

its was the sons of village headmen....

sorry, you are right !

This is a special group of mafia in LOS !

Thais use the word mafia in English or Thai language, pretty much interchangeably. But more sophisticated Thais will use the word (phrase) "Puu tee mee itiphon meut" or person with influence of a dark nature... or simply influential person. This kind of person is often someone with power simply because of their title, name, wealth, or because they got it all by protecting and extorting money from local businesses and paying police and others to operate in this manner. My point is... Mafia conjures up racketeering, Godfather type of images and ways of operating. But in Thailand these kinds of 'influence' can be gotten if a person has a title or something that establishes them as a person to be respected (and feared). The patronage system further supports this.

ok, yes,

I remember in africa they call me mostly Patron !! :-))

[taony]

Brother and nephew of the headman! And arrests made! even more shocking. Good news indeed. Let's hope that these are the actual culprits and that they and anyone else who was involved are brought to justice - and serve their time!

[steelepulse]

The village headman is also the owner of a bar there, he can keep his bar open all night long why because he's the village chief.

Is that the AC bar that was mentioned in certain FB posts that were taken down? Anyone know who owns/runs the AC bar?

[SirBser]

Yeah the guy the arrested works in his brothers bar AC bar, he's 45 years old.

Bang!!!

[iReason]

"If there are mafias"

The police denying there even are mafias on Koh Tao is a sure sign this is a cover up. Have they even bothered questioning the ones in the bar brawl or the ones chasing the remaining witness? This is a joke.

Depends what you call mafia. We have a tendency of calling everything mafia here in Thailand that doesn't follow the "rules". Beach chair mafia, jet ski mafia, motorcycle rental mafia. Taxi mafia.

For the ppolice mafias might be bigger than the guys the Scottish guy met. Drug cartels etc.

Oxford Dictionary:

(usu. mafia)any organized group using extortion and other criminal methods.

(usu. mafia)a closed group of people in a particular field, having a controlling influence.

Edited September 23, 2014 by iReason

[Thai at Heart]

Why on earth do they give them the heads up like this?

What odds - The culprits have left the country and are currently in Cambodia.

What odds they are the village Idiots been sold down the river by their families?

All we are waiting for now is the all new DNA to cone through.

jb1

Very very slim I would say.

They have so much pressure on themselves that they have to do something. Having a petrified farang with a hotline to Sky News doesn't help, because those guys broadcast globally. That is the issue they can't control. If they don't do anything, he is likely to blab a bit more and a bit more. People know who did it, the only way they can keep it under wraps is to keep everyone quiet.

[metisdead]

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

Other inflammatory nonsense/trolling posts have been removed as well.

[Rykbanlor]

SO Sean McAnna gets his reward then, and hopefully thousands of apologetic posts from those who doubted him.

I wouldn't hold your breath man. The tone of most of those doubting posts didn't seem to be of one who could deal with humility well.

[bkkgooner]

Rejoice, you miserable people.

The murderers have been caught.

CONGRATULATIONS to the Thai police force.

A job well done.

My condolences again to the families of the victims.

May they rest in peace, their murderers have been apprehended.

No matching DNA yet and the suspect has been released.

The story is far from over

[Carl64]

I dont give a <deleted> about tourism!

All about finding the murderers who did this

Even if this happened in my country - <deleted> the tourism and lets have justice

More importantly how will this effect tourism??????

Couldn't agree more! Almost every news story has made a comment about their beloved tourism industry. It's revolting!

[jaidam]

Yeah the guy the arrested works in his brothers bar AC bar, he's 45 years old.

Bang!!!

Yes, but...but...but

read the latest article in the other paper. It clearly states the police at Koh Tao released this suspect at 1.50pm today. Time to duck again!

Certainly too early to crack the champers.

[greenchair]

Oh super .the police have been working tirelessly. I have faith in them to get this done. I think people should give credit when credit is due. Did not Want to say anything, but am wandering if that sean is deeply involved in all this. And trying to save his own a---. Remember the used condom. My wild imagination I thought he might have been there and ran when it got out of hand. I thought that might be why the guy went back to threaten Sean to shut up.just a crazy theory

[SirBser]

The village headman is also the owner of a bar there, he can keep his bar open all night long why because he's the village chief.

Is that the AC bar that was mentioned in certain FB posts that were taken down? Anyone know who owns/runs the AC bar?

The village chief owns AC bar.

[Smurkster]

Here's a novel idea....why don't the police and TAT stop issuing these silly statements and save them until after they accomplish the mission...

No reason to advertise every step of the investigation, just make the arrest and get on with it..

Actions speak louder than words