Koh Tao murders: Police free bar owners and look for ex-village headman's son

[green job]

My wife has family that live on Koh Tao and Koh Phagnan.

She had a chat with her cousin yesterday on Koh Tao and everyone there knows who did it. Probably known since the day after the crime.

Therefore, the police must have known too.

Only conflicting info from her, was that it was the nephew of a village headman ??

Looks like they will get the right people eventually though, more due to international pressure than good police work.

RIP the deceased..

Then tell your wife to report to the head of police,or army,and give them the info they need. In the UK this would be law.

[kimamey]

I think the police have turned over a new leaf and are going to pursue this case, no matter where or who it leads to. I believe it is because the army has their back; both to support them and to keep them on the straight and narrow path of righteousness.

If they can bring in the guilty parties and make a credible case against them (no matter who is their father), it will go a long way to restoring respect and confidence in the RTP.

You say the police have turned a new leaf regarding the case? Sure after nearly 2 weeks of trying to set people up, ignore the fact Thais could be involved, local enforcement probably covering things up, ignoring help from outside such as the FBI and having the entire world breaking their balls, good on them...

Sorry but I have no respect for them whatsoever, they handled this in a typical Thai manner, it was a circus and laughing stock, horrific images were leaked, the crime scene was a shambles with regards to how it was fenced off and investigated, the GENERAL and his outstanding bikini comment and who can forget blaming the victims friend on the grounds he was a potential homosexual. Yep, looks like Koh Tao and the rest of Thailand has a booming future

The FBI!! No self respecting country would allow a foreign governments police force to meddle in their internal investigations. And the whole world is not breaking their balls. The world consists of more than the UK and US....The PM made an error due to his lack of experience with foreign media. The Thai police are doing their best. And yes. Koh Tao and Thailand has a booming future ahead of them......Heinous crimes happen everywhere not just in Thai.....

I don't think the FBI or anyone else helping with DNA sampling is meddling. Didn't Singapore help in the end. It's not uncommon to have help from another country if aspects of the crime cross borders.

British police are now investigating the disappearance of Madeline McCann in Portugal.

You need to keep up with the times. It might help the Thai police if they did the same.

[belg]

i really hope they keep all the dna in a database, so the next time someone gets ....

[jabis]

The DNA testing, if done properly, will also identify relatives of the perpetrators and the exact nature of their relationship (father, son, brother, cousin, 2nd cousin, etc.). With the mass testing being done, if the perps are locals, the police should have been able to triangulate on them quite specifically. Catching them is another matter.

If the DNA-testing would be secured and transparent - sure. As of what the leads on this case at the moment: the alleged persons are tied to BiB by blood relations - the one hindering MET according to statements are island BIB - the island headmen are blood related to both police, the fugitive at large as well as the owner of the bar - why not a single arrest case yet?

[cacruden]

Isn't family DNA linked like the Jack the Ripper case?

It is linked but I do not think it definitive. You get Y-DNA from your father, and mt-DNA from your mother (if you're a male). Over time mutations are introduced (mt-DNA mutates very very slowly so it is pretty useless in these cases). You get Y-DNA from your father, and he gets that from his father etc. Over time mutations are introduced. Depending on the number of markers tested, they usually state things like there it is statistically likely that you are related within a certain number of generations. Of course if you live in the same place as your parents, and grandparents etc. there will be a lot of DNA in that area that is close. It also takes time for the DNA tests to come back - even if they are done locally.

[OnTheRun]

Todays comments from the U.K Independent newspaper concerning this horrific crime.

You need to go to the main page and then Asian News section as like yesterday the article link url comes back with a ''404'' notice.

One wonders why that should be?

http://www.independent.co.uk

I'm in Malaysia and that link doesn't work

[cornishcarlos]

My wife has family that live on Koh Tao and Koh Phagnan.

She had a chat with her cousin yesterday on Koh Tao and everyone there knows who did it. Probably known since the day after the crime.

Therefore, the police must have known too.

Only conflicting info from her, was that it was the nephew of a village headman ??

Looks like they will get the right people eventually though, more due to international pressure than good police work.

RIP the deceased..

Then tell your wife to report to the head of police,or army,and give them the info they need. In the UK this would be law.

I quite like my wife alive, but thanks for the advice...

The info she got is the same as the police are acting on now, so she does not need to do anything. Besides it is up to the Koh Tao residents to spill the beans

[Iumentum]

Todays comments from the U.K Independent newspaper concerning this horrific crime.

You need to go to the main page and then Asian News section as like yesterday the article link url comes back with a ''404'' notice.

One wonders why that should be?

http://www.independent.co.uk

I'm in Malaysia and that link doesn't work

It's because he didn't give the complete link, and yet he try to turn it into a conspiracy.

One wonders why that should be?

[scorecard]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Amazing how this story differs dramatically from the Bangkok Post. Is either paper right, or are they as confused as the Bib seem to be?

Add the extremely poor quality of reporters / reporting from the mentioned newspapers

[Tropicalevo]

Panya refused to reveal the suspects' names

The names of the farangs who were blamed by Thai police (and later proofed innocent) were revealed asap

Double standard? in LOS ? Never

This police have lost their face dramatically - if they ever had

The whole family was named in another thread yesterday. (The brother's short name is Mon?)

Sorry there are so many threads now that I cannot rememeber which one!

[Estrada]

I think the police have turned over a new leaf and are going to pursue this case, no matter where or who it leads to. I believe it is because the army has their back; both to support them and to keep them on the straight and narrow path of righteousness.

If they can bring in the guilty parties and make a credible case against them (no matter who is their father), it will go a long way to restoring respect and confidence in the RTP.

You say the police have turned a new leaf regarding the case? Sure after nearly 2 weeks of trying to set people up, ignore the fact Thais could be involved, local enforcement probably covering things up, ignoring help from outside such as the FBI and having the entire world breaking their balls, good on them...

Sorry but I have no respect for them whatsoever, they handled this in a typical Thai manner, it was a circus and laughing stock, horrific images were leaked, the crime scene was a shambles with regards to how it was fenced off and investigated, the GENERAL and his outstanding bikini comment and who can forget blaming the victims friend on the grounds he was a potential homosexual. Yep, looks like Koh Tao and the rest of Thailand has a booming future

The FBI!! No self respecting country would allow a foreign governments police force to meddle in their internal investigations. And the whole world is not breaking their balls. The world consists of more than the UK and US....The PM made an error due to his lack of experience with foreign media. The Thai police are doing their best. And yes. Koh Tao and Thailand has a booming future ahead of them......Heinous crimes happen everywhere not just in Thai.....

The Thai police have always in the past had foreign police and Consultants carrying out training and advising behind the scenes. Several of my friends from various police forces and Consultants have been assisting the Thai police. However, since the coup there was a major reshuffle of Police commanders in favour of friends of the new Government, as I understand it the General does not want foreign advisors anymore. Likewise, foreign news on this case is being censored by blocking the web sites.

[Iumentum]

I think the police have turned over a new leaf and are going to pursue this case, no matter where or who it leads to. I believe it is because the army has their back; both to support them and to keep them on the straight and narrow path of righteousness.

If they can bring in the guilty parties and make a credible case against them (no matter who is their father), it will go a long way to restoring respect and confidence in the RTP.

You say the police have turned a new leaf regarding the case? Sure after nearly 2 weeks of trying to set people up, ignore the fact Thais could be involved, local enforcement probably covering things up, ignoring help from outside such as the FBI and having the entire world breaking their balls, good on them...

Sorry but I have no respect for them whatsoever, they handled this in a typical Thai manner, it was a circus and laughing stock, horrific images were leaked, the crime scene was a shambles with regards to how it was fenced off and investigated, the GENERAL and his outstanding bikini comment and who can forget blaming the victims friend on the grounds he was a potential homosexual. Yep, looks like Koh Tao and the rest of Thailand has a booming future

The FBI!! No self respecting country would allow a foreign governments police force to meddle in their internal investigations. And the whole world is not breaking their balls. The world consists of more than the UK and US....The PM made an error due to his lack of experience with foreign media. The Thai police are doing their best. And yes. Koh Tao and Thailand has a booming future ahead of them......Heinous crimes happen everywhere not just in Thai.....

I don't think the FBI or anyone else helping with DNA sampling is meddling. Didn't Singapore help in the end. It's not uncommon to have help from another country if aspects of the crime cross borders.

British police are now investigating the disappearance of Madeline McCann in Portugal.

You need to keep up with the times. It might help the Thai police if they did the same.

"It might help the Thai police if they did the same." or would it?

Something tells me that this has been a coverup story from day one, and that the local police would be far from interested in any help at all.

[Goshawk]

It's all pointless speculation.

I've no problem with ThaiVisa posting the latest 'news' as a stand alone read/headline. That is admirable . . . but really, what's the point of letting it go beyond that simply for the army of armchair online Lt. Colombo's to conjure up half baked scenarios & solutions. The mind boggles. Oh, wait a minute . . . got it . . there's lots of lovely ads to look at (and click on) in between these sherlockian posts.

How do you think the investigation would look, if there wasn't the world wide media attention that it currently got?

you just didn't get what i said, did you? yawn . . . (there goes another ad below this post, someone's gaining . . . & it's not the parents of those 2 kids, sadly)

[almafudd]

I think the police have turned over a new leaf and are going to pursue this case, no matter where or who it leads to. I believe it is because the army has their back; both to support them and to keep them on the straight and narrow path of righteousness.

If they can bring in the guilty parties and make a credible case against them (no matter who is their father), it will go a long way to restoring respect and confidence in the RTP.

You say the police have turned a new leaf regarding the case? Sure after nearly 2 weeks of trying to set people up, ignore the fact Thais could be involved, local enforcement probably covering things up, ignoring help from outside such as the FBI and having the entire world breaking their balls, good on them...

Sorry but I have no respect for them whatsoever, they handled this in a typical Thai manner, it was a circus and laughing stock, horrific images were leaked, the crime scene was a shambles with regards to how it was fenced off and investigated, the GENERAL and his outstanding bikini comment and who can forget blaming the victims friend on the grounds he was a potential homosexual. Yep, looks like Koh Tao and the rest of Thailand has a booming future

The FBI!! No self respecting country would allow a foreign governments police force to meddle in their internal investigations. And the whole world is not breaking their balls. The world consists of more than the UK and US....The PM made an error due to his lack of experience with foreign media. The Thai police are doing their best. And yes. Koh Tao and Thailand has a booming future ahead of them......Heinous crimes happen everywhere not just in Thai.....

Many countries actually do share experts in many fields, especially after major terrorists acts, disasters and yes even murders.

The PM mistakes just shows the world how inept Thailand is at governing. All other world leaders have advisers, spin doctors and speech writers to control what information the public receives.

In Thailand they just fly by the seat of their pants, no crime scene preservation, no controlled or structured media releases (anybody and everyone releases media releases) and I will not even comment on the so called holy grail of excuses for absolutely everything called "saving face".

Yes crime is committed everywhere, but it is just investigated more professionally and thoroughly in most other countries. "The Thai police are doing their best." If one of the murder victims (RIP) was someone you knew or a part of your family, would "doing their best" be acceptable? That is why many countries have standards, accountability, ethics and common sense, something Thailand will never achieve. Especially common sense...

TIT

edit: spelling

[animatic]

I think the police have turned over a new leaf and are going to pursue this case, no matter where or who it leads to. I believe it is because the army has their back; both to support them and to keep them on the straight and narrow path of righteousness.

If they can bring in the guilty parties and make a credible case against them (no matter who is their father), it will go a long way to restoring respect and confidence in the RTP.

You say the police have turned a new leaf regarding the case? Sure after nearly 2 weeks of trying to set people up, ignore the fact Thais could be involved, local enforcement probably covering things up, ignoring help from outside such as the FBI and having the entire world breaking their balls, good on them...

Sorry but I have no respect for them whatsoever, they handled this in a typical Thai manner, it was a circus and laughing stock, horrific images were leaked, the crime scene was a shambles with regards to how it was fenced off and investigated, the GENERAL and his outstanding bikini comment and who can forget blaming the victims friend on the grounds he was a potential homosexual. Yep, looks like Koh Tao and the rest of Thailand has a booming future

Anyone thats followed this case from the start, can clearly see the police did everything in their power to protect the killers and try to frame a scapegoat. Why anybody has any praise for this institution is quite beyond me. Considering that most reactions immediately after hearing of the crime location fingered the likely perps, the polices 2 weeks to get there and letting them run away isn't going to win any awards. Far worse than useless, and criminal charges must be brought against all the island police. life imprisonment for aiding and abetting murder, obstructing an investigation, hang em.

One has to draw a distinction between the local low end provincial police force, and the crew from Bangkok sent down to over-ride the local BIB to local familial / influence connection. The local guys ran the investigation at first with the predictable results. The higher level out of towners came down, had to learn the lay of the land, inspite of the locals self-interest in not killing their local golden goose, or actual blood relative relationships. No cop here gets a living wage, they all have to make deals to get a cut of the local pies to survive, that automatically rules out the families of their co-dealies getting hung out to dry for their actions.

Sending higher ranked out of towners in to take over means the locals get cover to not be blamed for an influentials family getting caught and removed from service for their stupidity and arrogance. Not to mention the current belief that the mains suspects extended family may include members of the local police and government. Easy to see why early and late stages of the investigation look very different. Both experience and motivations of those in charge are much different between days 1-5 and days 6-11.

Add to this local dynamic, the great international interest even beyond the British people and government, and you can see why the generals government has clearly put the boot down on the head cop to make this go quickly and properly. Doing so would bring increased perception of legitimacy of purpose to the new government, and one it would like during it's time in office.

There has been a general sense the generals have been trying to prune back corruption in general, and the BIB is one place this has been needed, there is no love lost between police and army, but the police generals surely know the army generals are firmly in charge and know they mean business. This is a good sign for this investigation. There is face saving for the nation and then face saving on the world stage, and the world will be less forgiving than the other in the big picture, if there is not a properly seen outcome for this. Sometimes being seen to do something is not near as good as being seen to get something right.

[Robby nz]

Police revealed that two Thais had been interviewed but were released after refusing to provide DNA samples: What the Murder of Two British Tourists Tells Us About Thailand’s Dark Side

Where in the OP does it say they refused to give DNA samples ?

[Estrada]

Todays comments from the U.K Independent newspaper concerning this horrific crime.

You need to go to the main page and then Asian News section as like yesterday the article link url comes back with a ''404'' notice.

One wonders why that should be?

http://www.independent.co.uk

Maybe if you gave proper link it wouldn't go to a 404. No links on that website is as the link you provided there, so my guess if that the mistake is on you and not some kind of conspiracy.

Try following the instructions, I did without problem. I went to World News and selected Asian News it is so easy a 5 year old could do it.

[Commerce]

i really hope they keep all the dna in a database, so the next time someone gets ....

Database? Thailand? Paradox?

[Iumentum]

It's all pointless speculation.

I've no problem with ThaiVisa posting the latest 'news' as a stand alone read/headline. That is admirable . . . but really, what's the point of letting it go beyond that simply for the army of armchair online Lt. Colombo's to conjure up half baked scenarios & solutions. The mind boggles. Oh, wait a minute . . . got it . . there's lots of lovely ads to look at (and click on) in between these sherlockian posts.

How do you think the investigation would look, if there wasn't the world wide media attention that it currently got?

you just didn't get what i said, did you? yawn . . . (there goes another ad below this post, someone's gaining . . . & it's not the parents of those 2 kids, sadly)

I did get what you said, but you claim that they let it go beyond that just for the armchair investigators and ad revenue. But i got news for you, every newspaper is interested in revenue.

Anyway, point is that this case seem to get the "beyond" attention needed, to actually get the justice brought upon the right people.

It's not only about the world wide media attention, it's as much about the social media attention. What do you think can damage Thailand's image the most, news media or social media?

[richusa]

Thai pbs reported it's the village headman son and brother who have been implicated and are the suspects.

Hopefully the death penalty is reinstalled for these two. They both deserve it.

The guilty will drive away on their Ferrari Speedboat.

[Iumentum]

Todays comments from the U.K Independent newspaper concerning this horrific crime.

You need to go to the main page and then Asian News section as like yesterday the article link url comes back with a ''404'' notice.

One wonders why that should be?

http://www.independent.co.uk

Maybe if you gave proper link it wouldn't go to a 404. No links on that website is as the link you provided there, so my guess if that the mistake is on you and not some kind of conspiracy.

Try following the instructions, I did without problem. I went to World News and selected Asian News it is so easy a 5 year old could do it.

Geez, i did and could also find the page.

Point is that this guy he didn't provide the correct link YET he try to make it sound like some kind of conspiracy.

If i couldn't find the page to begin with, how would i be able to claim that no such pages on that website would have such link as he provided us with?

I thought that i was so clear that even a 5 year old would understand it.

[smileydude]

If the police care enough about their credibility, the standard of attention and tenacity seen on this case should be applied to all murder and rape cases.

I understand all these public updates are for the sake of PR but isn't it like updating the perps too?

[JOC]

It's all pointless speculation.

I've no problem with ThaiVisa posting the latest 'news' as a stand alone read/headline. That is admirable . . . but really, what's the point of letting it go beyond that simply for the army of armchair online Lt. Colombo's to conjure up half baked scenarios & solutions. The mind boggles. Oh, wait a minute . . . got it . . there's lots of lovely ads to look at (and click on) in between these sherlockian posts.

How do you think the investigation would look, if there wasn't the world wide media attention that it currently got?

So according to you: The barstoolexperts here=World media??

Thank you, you just made my day!!

[wilcopops]

Why not just arrest everyone in Thailand and let them go one by one?...at least at some point they will have interviewed the murders.....even if they didn't arrest them.

[Nowisee]

I have nothing positive to say about the posers in brown uniforms. When I look at them I think 'useless' in so many adjectives.

[Halion]

What exactly do they mean when they state "people of influence". Are they connected to the Military or political administration or are they wealthy industrialist or local entrepreneurs or are they simply the Thai scumbag mafia types that control by self entitlement through violence and corruption. To me at least the later fits the bill.

[Iumentum]

It's all pointless speculation.

I've no problem with ThaiVisa posting the latest 'news' as a stand alone read/headline. That is admirable . . . but really, what's the point of letting it go beyond that simply for the army of armchair online Lt. Colombo's to conjure up half baked scenarios & solutions. The mind boggles. Oh, wait a minute . . . got it . . there's lots of lovely ads to look at (and click on) in between these sherlockian posts.

How do you think the investigation would look, if there wasn't the world wide media attention that it currently got?

So according to you: The barstoolexperts here=World media??

Thank you, you just made my day!!

I think you underestimate the power of social media buddy! Yes social media is also world wide media!

Your comprehending skills just made mine!

[Oziex1]

Hiding in Bangkok? I thought he'd be well into the jungles of Cambodia/Laos/Vietnam by now.

Thank god for all the international pressure. David and Hannah may Get some justice soon. I hope Koh Tao is cleaned up of these 'families' too but I won't hold my breath on that.

He's not Bear Grylls, just some little wuss full of self-entitlement through his family connections. He has no ability to earn money which is unfortunate if you are on the run, and as for hiding out in the Cambodian jungles, not a chance.

And if he went to other crooks for support would they really want him around unless he can pay them more than the reward. He will be in custody soon and his flight equals guilt.

[monk213]

I have nothing positive to say about the posers in brown uniforms. When I look at them I think 'useless' in so many adjectives.

I think many things, I could probably write a short story or book of poems with the English and Thai words and phrases that spring to mind. But I'm afraid that book has to remain upstairs

[Docno]

The DNA testing, if done properly, will also identify relatives of the perpetrators and the exact nature of their relationship (father, son, brother, cousin, 2nd cousin, etc.). With the mass testing being done, if the perps are locals, the police should have been able to triangulate on them quite specifically. Catching them is another matter.

If the DNA-testing would be secured and transparent - sure. As of what the leads on this case at the moment: the alleged persons are tied to BiB by blood relations - the one hindering MET according to statements are island BIB - the island headmen are blood related to both police, the fugitive at large as well as the owner of the bar - why not a single arrest case yet?

Good point. However, I seem to recall that the DNA samples are being sent to Singapore for testing. Now, of course, a police officer could 'lose' a sample of a suspected relative rather than having it sent off to Singapore. However, if the perps are local, there will be a 'web' of relations among those tested (cousins, nephews, uncles., etc.), and the Singaporeans could use this--I believe--to identify members from a specific family ... they basically could say 'it will be one of the sons from this family'. Then the question would be, 'do we have samples from these sons' or 'why don't we have samples from this family'? I'm not sure police officers would have the sophistication to know what information DNA can provide beyond the identity of suspects (or immediate family members).