Koh Tao headman offers Bt1m cash if evidence proves his family implicated in the tourist murder

[crazykopite]

This gets more farcical by the day ,yet two young people were brutally murdered and yet the police do not have a clue as for the offer of a million baht it seems he is very wealthy there are not many Thais on the island who could claim to have a million baht. Sadly I think the killers will never be found the door hs been opened and left open by the police the culprits are well gone. I am sure the scots lad Sean would not make up such a story already the headman has admitted he had words with the lad The people I feel sorry for are the parents of the victims very day must boring more heartache I hope tourist will vote with there feet far to many deaths / killings have gone unexplained it was only last year that two Canadian sisters were poisoned on Phi Phi yet those who poisoned them are free to kill again as are those that killed these two young people.

[johnson36]

Guy on the left is the the one on the left in seans photo

Seems he hangs to the left...

Let's just hope they find the guilty one and he hangs from the neck

[Strangebrew]

Let's hear him say that when the military gets there and takes charge Maybe do audit on his business holding. There is New Sheriff in town knucklehead.

[sweatalot]

Seems to be a big smoke grenade

What is he offering if they prove his family IS implicated?

[Baerboxer]

'As a local village headman in Koh Tao announced to give one million baht cash reward to police if they have substantial evidence to implicate him and his family in the murder of the two British tourists,'

Erm, might want to think about that a little more.......or at least have a family meeting first.

Yep waving a Million in the face of the BIB and saying it's all yours if you can fit me up for the crime. They are probably falling over each other at the moment. So has been charged yet?

Normally they would be all over the "offer" like flies on shit. But, this is more of a taunt. It almost says you can't catch us, we've sorted everything out and I'm so sure of it I'll give you a million if you can. He's confident enough to up the "face" stakes so either the family is involved and think they've covered everything so no proof; or they are innocent and not involved. Which do you think more likely.

BTW - AFAIK none of this family have been DNA tested and his brother refused to give a sample. Maybe they don't trust the BiB to be honest with the samples, the testing or maybe the "fix" was finalized.

One thing for sure, no nearer to solving this now and looking like another Kirsty Jones case. They know that sooner or later the international media will loose interest. find new stories and that it will all blow over in time. Meantime some games on keeping face, some new negotiations and then back to business as usual.

[AGareth2]

It looks that we a re now in the "petering out" phase............ any police investigations have come to a dead end, either through lack of evidence, lack of competence or lack of co-operation or balking by local nabobs

What happened to the hairs???

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/murdered-tourists-struggled-attacker-thai-beach-report-article-1.1942550

yes what did that reveal?

[allan michaud]

To come out and publicly offer this "reward", he must be pretty confident that the DNA evidence has been seriously tampered with and "misplace" so as to prove his family's "innocence"

My thoughts exactly, local police seem to have been running the show so far, which doesn't inspire confidence that DNA samples taken so far are reliable. The Dept Police Chief was quoted earlier as saying they have just sent a new forensics team to the island, which would indicate our concerns are valid.

I am so confused by all the misleading stories, when the story first ran 2 days ago, that they had pulled these guys in for interviews and DNA samples, there were conflicting statements that 1 or both had given samples and both had been released. However in one version it also said 2 people (unnamed) refused to give samples. Now, 48 hours after the samples were supposedly taken we have heard nothing. One statement even said they had cleared the bar owner after the interview/sampling, which is odd seeing as they clearly hadn't tested his DNA at that point and had no business clearing him.

Why is this so complicated? Just 1 sample from any member of the headman's immediate family will be enough to show if a family member was involved or not. No need for rewards, all he has to do is give a sample, ideally in public like all the foreign workers had to do.

As for the pathetic story of Scotsman Sean being covered in blood and asking some girl to wash it off him, and then not mentioning it for 9 days is just laughable. The DNA only proved it was Asians 5 or 6 days after the event, so why did she not speak out before then? When they were all so desperately looking for a foreigner to pin it on. She would have been a national hero. Utter <deleted>.

[ClutchClark]

Now thats about as twisted of logic as you can get.

At first everybody here at TV is angry that the powerful members of society are above the law.

Then the police disprove you by investigating and publicly fingering a member of an influential family.

And now all you can say when your accusations have been proven wrong is that it was an elaborate police scheme of reverse psychology.

Pretty funny.

Why do all these farangs on TV think they should be the puppet masters of the Thai Police or the Thai General or of Thai Society?

Why do so many TV members think it perfectly reasonable to make demands that Thai Police test everyones DNA in a huge dragnet when they would complain like the dickens if it were ever attempted by the Police in their own Western European countries?

Not me, they can have mine tomorrow if it helps......

Transam,

Have always enjoyed your posts and point of view.

Particularly in your epic battle against the stormtrooper.

Volunteering a DNA sample is quite a different thing than being ordered to provide a sample.

In an era of rampant identity theft and the sale of personal information through data mining, I certainly don't want my entire genetic history to be available to anyone with malicious intent.

Furthermore, I live in a country where healthcare is not free and we pay through the nose if we fit certain demographics. Sure, right now we have Obamacare, but its going to face real challenges when Obama is done with this term. Until just two years ago, before the ACA became effective in the US, health insurers would drop coverage on people who had too much illness--and these for-profit healthcare organizations in the US would be very happy to get some type of data that gives them insight into a persons predisposition for disease.

And then there is the whole concern of Thailand crime labs being poorly operated like most everything else in Thailand. There is no way anyone is convincing me that there is not an increased risk of contaminated DNA sampling at these facilities.

Everybody on here says they don't trust the police one iota and we live in an era where a DNA match is all it takes to convince the population at large that someone is guilty. Do you really want people you have great distrust for to have that ability to have access to your DNA and access to a crime scene?

No thanks.

But then I am an american and we have an entirely different issue with something we call our Rights.

One of which is the Right to Privacy.

We don't think a police force has the right to barge into our home without probable cause. For alot of us Americans we think that is the kind of thing they did in Nazi Germany or the Soviet Onion. Out homes are our castles and what is even more sacred than our home? Our persons. You won't find many Americans who think the authorities should be able to just bust down every door in a neighborhood where a crime took place and that is exactly what a mandatory DNA test is like on an even more personal level.

Cheers

[ozzyrules]

Seems to be a big smoke grenade

What is he offering if they prove his family IS implicated?

1 million...if they are found guilty...

His offer if they never find the killers.....zero...

How is it that the brother of the head of the island is also the cop next to him in the photo,

He goes around chasing Sean with another off duty cop,

So 2 cops we know of in his back pocket and he offers a reward if they can find him guilty.....What a disgrace..

Do police have random stationing or do they go to the highest bidder?

[ClutchClark]

This gets more farcical by the day ,yet two young people were brutally murdered and yet the police do not have a clue as for the offer of a million baht it seems he is very wealthy there are not many Thais on the island who could claim to have a million baht. Sadly I think the killers will never be found the door hs been opened and left open by the police the culprits are well gone. I am sure the scots lad Sean would not make up such a story already the headman has admitted he had words with the lad The people I feel sorry for are the parents of the victims very day must boring more heartache I hope tourist will vote with there feet far to many deaths / killings have gone unexplained it was only last year that two Canadian sisters were poisoned on Phi Phi yet those who poisoned them are free to kill again as are those that killed these two young people.

The sisters' deaths were considered to be the result of fumigation efforts on the part of the hotel.

Thailand doesn't have any laws or enforcement effort when it comes to fumigating for insects in living spaces.

[Soutpeel]

But then I am an american and we have an entirely different issue with something we call our Rights.

One of which is the Right to Privacy.

We don't think a police force has the right to barge into our home without probable cause. For alot of us Americans we think that is the kind of thing they did in Nazi Germany or the Soviet Onion. Out homes are our castles and what is even more sacred than our home? Our persons. You won't find many Americans who think the authorities should be able to just bust down every door in a neighborhood where a crime took place and that is exactly what a mandatory DNA test is like on an even more personal level.

Cheers

"Patriot act".....

[ClutchClark]

But then I am an american and we have an entirely different issue with something we call our Rights.

One of which is the Right to Privacy.

We don't think a police force has the right to barge into our home without probable cause. For alot of us Americans we think that is the kind of thing they did in Nazi Germany or the Soviet Onion. Out homes are our castles and what is even more sacred than our home? Our persons. You won't find many Americans who think the authorities should be able to just bust down every door in a neighborhood where a crime took place and that is exactly what a mandatory DNA test is like on an even more personal level.

Cheers

"Patriot act".....

The Patriot Act is an excellent example of the erosion of Civil Liberties very much like the idea of forced DNA sampling of all males in a particular radius.

Thanks for a great analogy.

[IamNoone88]

I'd trust this guy about as far as I could spit.

[transam]

Now thats about as twisted of logic as you can get.

At first everybody here at TV is angry that the powerful members of society are above the law.

Then the police disprove you by investigating and publicly fingering a member of an influential family.

And now all you can say when your accusations have been proven wrong is that it was an elaborate police scheme of reverse psychology.

Pretty funny.

Why do all these farangs on TV think they should be the puppet masters of the Thai Police or the Thai General or of Thai Society?

Why do so many TV members think it perfectly reasonable to make demands that Thai Police test everyones DNA in a huge dragnet when they would complain like the dickens if it were ever attempted by the Police in their own Western European countries?

Not me, they can have mine tomorrow if it helps......

Transam,

Have always enjoyed your posts and point of view.

Particularly in your epic battle against the stormtrooper.

Volunteering a DNA sample is quite a different thing than being ordered to provide a sample.

In an era of rampant identity theft and the sale of personal information through data mining, I certainly don't want my entire genetic history to be available to anyone with malicious intent.

Furthermore, I live in a country where healthcare is not free and we pay through the nose if we fit certain demographics. Sure, right now we have Obamacare, but its going to face real challenges when Obama is done with this term. Until just two years ago, before the ACA became effective in the US, health insurers would drop coverage on people who had too much illness--and these for-profit healthcare organizations in the US would be very happy to get some type of data that gives them insight into a persons predisposition for disease.

And then there is the whole concern of Thailand crime labs being poorly operated like most everything else in Thailand. There is no way anyone is convincing me that there is not an increased risk of contaminated DNA sampling at these facilities.

Everybody on here says they don't trust the police one iota and we live in an era where a DNA match is all it takes to convince the population at large that someone is guilty. Do you really want people you have great distrust for to have that ability to have access to your DNA and access to a crime scene?

No thanks.

But then I am an american and we have an entirely different issue with something we call our Rights.

One of which is the Right to Privacy.

We don't think a police force has the right to barge into our home without probable cause. For alot of us Americans we think that is the kind of thing they did in Nazi Germany or the Soviet Onion. Out homes are our castles and what is even more sacred than our home? Our persons. You won't find many Americans who think the authorities should be able to just bust down every door in a neighborhood where a crime took place and that is exactly what a mandatory DNA test is like on an even more personal level.

Cheers

But mate, if it were your daughter with her head bashed in and the rest of it, would you say, oh, don't test those folk it's against this and that. ?

If it were your daughter I would give my back teeth to get hold of the bloke...

[toooa]

The lady doth protest too much, methinks...

[outsider]

No 'mafia big boss' on this island... really?

[webfact]

UPDATE:

Bangkok Suspect Cleared of Connection To Britons' Murder
By Khaosod English

BANGKOK – Police say they have cleared another primary suspect from connection to the murder of two British tourists on Koh Tao island that took place over a week ago.

Warot Toowichian, 22, was initially sought by the police on the suspicion that he left Koh Tao island shortly after David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, were mudered there last week. Mr. Warot was thought to have been hiding in Bangkok since.

But police questioned Mr. Warot and established that he was not on the island when the murder took place, deputy police chief Pol.Gen. Ake Angsananond said yesterday. Therefore, he is no longer being treated as a potential suspect, Pol.Gen. Ake said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Warot's father, a ‘village headman’ (local administrator) on Koh Tao, denied the allegation that his family is a part of a "mafia" network using its underground influence to stall the police investigation into the murder.

"We are not mafia or influential figures as reported in the news," Woraphan Toowichian said at a press conference yesterday. "My family has been helping authorites … and police in the investigation since the first day."

He continued, "The media coverage has saddened me. It's really serious, and it damages me, my family, and my relatives."

To prove his innocence, Mr. Woraphan said he would give police one million baht if they uncover evidence that links any of his family members to the murder of the two Britons.

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1411635247


-- Khaosod English 2014-09-25

[toooa]

I'd trust this guy about as far as I could spit.

or as far as you could piss...

[mrblue]

I'm not sure I understand this right...

is he going to give the 1mb to the police if they found out he is not guilty... right...? :/

[Number 3]

webfact, on 16 Sept 2014 - 08:55, said:

CRIME

Koh Tao 'sealed off' after two tourists brutally killed

THE NATION, AFP

Gruesome murders of British pair on island paradise shock locals and visitors

BANGKOK: -- POLICE have sealed off the resort island of Koh Tao off Surat Thani province to hunt down killers who brutally murdered a British couple and possibly raped the woman on Sunday night. The 24-year-old victims have been identified as Hannah Witheridge and David Miller.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa....itish-tourists/

this person in the black t shirt looks the same person put on the facebook pages and another newspaper we cant quote . this is dated 16 sept 14

Is this villiage headman with the gloves on at the crime also ?

Would it really surprise you if it was ? Does appear to look like him but who could say with certainty ? Seems anyone can traipse over this cordoned off crime scene. Great work indeed and cleverly orchestrated making any DNA evidence other than semen, inadmissible. But then they knew that already

[blowin]

He is prob. already giving double to the police for protection. I know a lady that worked in a resort in KPH and a well run one mind you I have stayed there. She told me that there was always drugs about pills and Ganga the boss would get a phone call the gear would be moved than police would come and search and all would go back to normal.

On another occasion my wife and I were out with friends in KPH we got a lift back with German guy who owned a dive business on the island. We were stopped by uniformed police as we moved away a plain clothes guy stepped forward and opened the glove box in the Jeep and took out a big bag of Drugs he said "good stuff ..name.. very good was the answer they both laughed. I nearly had a heart attack I got out and walked back. I could say more about my stays in KPH but I do want visit Thailand again

[Number 3]

UPDATE:

Bangkok Suspect Cleared of Connection To Britons' Murder

By Khaosod English

BANGKOK Police say they have cleared another primary suspect from connection to the murder of two British tourists on Koh Tao island that took place over a week ago.

Warot Toowichian, 22, was initially sought by the police on the suspicion that he left Koh Tao island shortly after David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, were mudered there last week. Mr. Warot was thought to have been hiding in Bangkok since.

But police questioned Mr. Warot and established that he was not on the island when the murder took place, deputy police chief Pol.Gen. Ake Angsananond said yesterday. Therefore, he is no longer being treated as a potential suspect, Pol.Gen. Ake said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Warot's father, a village headman (local administrator) on Koh Tao, denied the allegation that his family is a part of a "mafia" network using its underground influence to stall the police investigation into the murder.

"We are not mafia or influential figures as reported in the news," Woraphan Toowichian said at a press conference yesterday. "My family has been helping authorites and police in the investigation since the first day."

He continued, "The media coverage has saddened me. It's really serious, and it damages me, my family, and my relatives."

To prove his innocence, Mr. Woraphan said he would give police one million baht if they uncover evidence that links any of his family members to the murder of the two Britons.

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1411635247

-- Khaosod English 2014-09-25

That is the final siren for 'game over' I would suggest. The rest will be more of the dramedy played out for the media and the international "friends".

[Cuchulainn]

Give B1 million to the scummy police? That'll be put to good use!!

Wouldn't a worthwhile charity be better?

[ClutchClark]

Now thats about as twisted of logic as you can get.

At first everybody here at TV is angry that the powerful members of society are above the law.

Then the police disprove you by investigating and publicly fingering a member of an influential family.

And now all you can say when your accusations have been proven wrong is that it was an elaborate police scheme of reverse psychology.

Pretty funny.

Why do all these farangs on TV think they should be the puppet masters of the Thai Police or the Thai General or of Thai Society?

Why do so many TV members think it perfectly reasonable to make demands that Thai Police test everyones DNA in a huge dragnet when they would complain like the dickens if it were ever attempted by the Police in their own Western European countries?

Not me, they can have mine tomorrow if it helps......

Transam,

Have always enjoyed your posts and point of view.

Particularly in your epic battle against the stormtrooper.

Volunteering a DNA sample is quite a different thing than being ordered to provide a sample.

In an era of rampant identity theft and the sale of personal information through data mining, I certainly don't want my entire genetic history to be available to anyone with malicious intent.

Furthermore, I live in a country where healthcare is not free and we pay through the nose if we fit certain demographics. Sure, right now we have Obamacare, but its going to face real challenges when Obama is done with this term. Until just two years ago, before the ACA became effective in the US, health insurers would drop coverage on people who had too much illness--and these for-profit healthcare organizations in the US would be very happy to get some type of data that gives them insight into a persons predisposition for disease.

And then there is the whole concern of Thailand crime labs being poorly operated like most everything else in Thailand. There is no way anyone is convincing me that there is not an increased risk of contaminated DNA sampling at these facilities.

Everybody on here says they don't trust the police one iota and we live in an era where a DNA match is all it takes to convince the population at large that someone is guilty. Do you really want people you have great distrust for to have that ability to have access to your DNA and access to a crime scene?

No thanks.

But then I am an american and we have an entirely different issue with something we call our Rights.

One of which is the Right to Privacy.

We don't think a police force has the right to barge into our home without probable cause. For alot of us Americans we think that is the kind of thing they did in Nazi Germany or the Soviet Onion. Out homes are our castles and what is even more sacred than our home? Our persons. You won't find many Americans who think the authorities should be able to just bust down every door in a neighborhood where a crime took place and that is exactly what a mandatory DNA test is like on an even more personal level.

Cheers

But mate, if it were your daughter with her head bashed in and the rest of it, would you say, oh, don't test those folk it's against this and that. ?

If it were your daughter I would give my back teeth to get hold of the bloke...

I understand what you are saying but...

The actions and motivations of a bereaving father are very different from what a society should want from its police force.

[Number 3]

Give B1 million to the scummy police? That'll be put to good use!!

Wouldn't a worthwhile charity be better?

How about a million baht reward for any information that leads to the capture of these bottom feeders ?

Does that not make more sense ?

[crazykopite]

an excellent read..

http://mikeestravels.com/2014/09/25/the-dark-side-of-thailands-island-paradise/

Brilliant article well thought out and as near the truth as it can get . The self elected PM needs to show the world that he means business for starters he needs to get rid of every mafia style family and end corruption

[Phuketboy]

Mmmmm a thai guy with 1 million baht just laying around that he can hand out….. well I wonder how he made that.

[Getyourfactsright]

Its funny, he will give the police 1m b if they can find a connection or not and the next day the son is found not connected...

[KOZMO]

....and 10 million if it clears them.

Typical rich thai trying to get away with murder!!!!!

[darren84310]

This guy reminds me why I don't live on the islands anymore, these guys think they are untouchable, the longer this investigation dragged without finding the culprits the more I started to think that they have power and influence on the island, if the murderers had been fisherman, Burmese workman or similar low class citizens they would have caught them within a day or two....

Let's hope that in this case bribery doesn't get in the way of justice.... Come on General, send in your most trusted people to get to the truth.