Britons' murder: Police claim Koh Tao investigation hindered by media

[phil2407]

Everyone else's fault except the police as usual - as much use as a chocolate fire guard - maybe if they stopped checking Facebook and actually did some work - the culprit(s) might get caught - won't hold my breath though

[farang000999]

The word on the other islands from the Thai's ,and they know others who work there is that the bar owner ordered two of his staff carry out the horrific attack.

By this they have no evidence that he is the perp. The DNA is their only hope now of a conviction.

It has been a circus from the start!

Sounds like you cracked the case.

[Plutojames88]

Their leader travels to Europe soon.

Have a safe trip ""dear leader"

[wabothai]

Mr general, in most civilized countries there is freedom of speech, it is up to you to sift throuh press messages, and please don't tell the world that press and social media hinder your investigations. It will backfire on you.

[slipperx]

It may or may not have been easy to catch the culprits easily and quickly. We won't know because the RTP did not do their job competently, efficiently or with prudence. They did not display much in the way of logic or deduction, failed to secure the crime scene and failed to lock down the island. They may have been understaffed but the response force did not get there quickly - if they even have advanced to the stage of having a response force.

Everyone knows what a corrupt bunch the police are at every level and I don't think there are many have any confidence at all in their abilities. They parade around like clowns but in reality have little expertise and little training. I do not believe the commanders can be so stupid as to not realise the utter ineptitude and lack of professional attitude yet year after year nothing changes. There is an indolence that pervades and a superiority that obscures the fact that they are bottom of the league.

Now come the excuses to try to put the blame anywhere but where it lays. This has nothing to do with the media and everything to do with corruption and an inbred egotistical trait that has absolutely no grounds.

It is time for the police to have a proper shake up - in fact every section of government and the Justice system needs to come out of the basically medieval level and advance. 2014 is not a year for ignorance, we are in an era of unparalleled access to information.

Time for Thais to grab the buffalo by the horns and start proper training of the professions, police and civil service. They are not capable of doing this themselves because they have no experience so get it from the best and bring Thailand up to date

[phanangpete]

Speaking to Thais I hear that the general consensus amongst Thais is that the murderer is a farang.

What , where do you live bud, i live on the islands and i hear different !

[chiang mai]

It's a dodgy place.

Did you hear me CM?

I said it's a dodgy place.

Of course it can be a dodgy place, no dispute about that, but it's dodginess has nothing to do with comments made on Facebook pages, which frankly, are frequently even more dodgy - it's like, which is the worst of the two seriously bad options, when it comes to credibility, it's a draw at best.

[phanangpete]

I now believe that the RTP, are using the wishful thinking tactic , that it is fisher men who could only do this sort of horrendous crime and not the elite bar owners !

[allan michaud]

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"Police had to waste their time following leads from these rumours," Pol.Gen. Somyot told reporters yesterday."

No they didn't. They could have ignored them and carried on doing their job.

Oh sure, and then accused by every one of you guys for not following up on a lead from the Press.

Thai police are screwed either way by TV posters. Dam**d if they do and dam**d if they don't.

Until I read that DNA samples taken from the family have been tested and cleared them, I will not believe they had no involvement. At no point have the police told us that DNA tests cleared them. They interviewed them 3 days ago and released them immediately stating they were cleared. It seems very clear that even if samples were taken, they had not been tested at that point, so how could they clear them?

Another issue is the reports of the argument in the AC bar in the hours before the attack was widely reported from they day after murders and yet the police didn't even look at this until they were pressured 8 days later. Then they make a cursory investigation and instantly clear them.

How can you defend the BIB for this debacle?

[phanangpete]

The word on the other islands from the Thai's ,and they know others who work there is that the bar owner ordered two of his staff carry out the horrific attack.

By this they have no evidence that he is the perp. The DNA is their only hope now of a conviction.

It has been a circus from the start!

Sounds like you cracked the case.

Well its going to take something to , aint it !

[Dogmatix]

Can't quote it on TV but have a look at the link to the Irriwaddy newspaper in the David Miller & Hannah Witheridge Tribute Facebook page. It contains interesting details of Thai police interrogation techniques as applied to Burmese workers on Koh Tao that included beatings. The author commented that Thai police couldn't care less when Burmese are murdered in Thailand.

Perhaps this is one of the incidences of social media and foreign media being unhelpful to the Thai police investigation.

[Dogmatix]

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"Police had to waste their time following leads from these rumours," Pol.Gen. Somyot told reporters yesterday."

No they didn't. They could have ignored them and carried on doing their job.

Oh sure, and then accused by every one of you guys for not following up on a lead from the Press.

Thai police are screwed either way by TV posters. Dam**d if they do and dam**d if they don't.

Until I read that DNA samples taken from the family have been tested and cleared them, I will not believe they had no involvement. At no point have the police told us that DNA tests cleared them. They interviewed them 3 days ago and released them immediately stating they were cleared. It seems very clear that even if samples were taken, they had not been tested at that point, so how could they clear them?

Another issue is the reports of the argument in the AC bar in the hours before the attack was widely reported from they day after murders and yet the police didn't even look at this until they were pressured 8 days later. Then they make a cursory investigation and instantly clear them.

How can you defend the BIB for this debacle?

Pol Lt Gen Panya specified that Worot, a son of the local mobster, had been cleared by evidence that he was not on the island at that time, but didn't mention DNA testing. You would have thought he would have wanted to do the test to be absolutely sure and would have announced the results to the media. Highly suspicious but, on the other hand, what is the cost of contaminating DNA samples or getting the police to take samples from someone else in Thailand?

I hope Prayuth is preparing some inactive positions at National Police HQ for these guys. That is the worst punishment for a policeman because he is left to live on his measly government salary after borrowing a lot of money to pay for his job.

[Baerboxer]

How long do murder investigations take in your countries?

I guess from your posts every brutal crime is solved immediately back home with 100% success rate.

If the murders took place on a tiny island, and the island was 'locked down' they would be solved very quickly. You DNA every single person on the island without exceptions. Instead of letting people leave on the first ferry to freedom!

What country do you live in?

Even in thailand it is against the law for the police to demand DNA samples of every resident.

"Pol Maj Gen Suwat, who is one of the best investigators at the MPB, defended the mass collection of DNA samples, saying police were not doing it simply at their own will but would be on persons who were suspected otherwise it could infringe on the rights and freedom of the people which is against the law."

Nice to see a senior police officer, from any force, explaining his standpoint on an aspect of civil rights.

However, as with all things here, it seems the more wealthy you are the more civil rights you enjoy.

Would be more impressive if DNA samples were taken from the Poo Yai, his brother, son and other male family members.

Oh, but they have "shown their innocence" in other ways of course. And after all, a Thai would never do something like this or lie about it.

[pasak]

The way I read it is that the perpetrators, their mafiosi peers and the police with whom they are conspiring to cover up the murders, were surprised and alarmed by the amount of social media attention that the murders had generated.

Prior to social media this would all have been sorted by now. A scapegoat would have been found (or it would have remained a mystery) and the headman and his family would have gone back to business as usual. Of course it is the foreign social media element and the foreign press that have stirred things up because foreigners ask questions and will not pipe down in the face of a cover up. So the foreigners are to blame yet again.

The criminals, those shielding the criminals and the government are now finding a common denominator and that is: They want foreigners to shut up about this and tourism to the island and elsewhere to be restored as soon as possible.

I think we will see a decrease in the number of statements and news stories emanating from this tragedy and so we will see a decrease in the amount of media attention (and bad press).

It will all just disappear in a haze of Thai sleaze, Thai greed, Thai duplicity and, of course, Thai smiles.

[jimbeam1]

How long do murder investigations take in your countries?

I guess from your posts every brutal crime is solved immediately back home with 100% success rate.

Oh is there a murder investigation going on.

I did notice some form of comic opera. Now we have another statement for the ptess to ridicule.

How about we talked to him and so were able to rule him out. Was he or was he not seen on the Island before the murders? To be sure of his innocence did the police take his DNA. Oh no of course not. We have to respect his human rights. Was his dear families DNA taken of course not, same reason.

jb1

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

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"Police had to waste their time following leads from these rumours," Pol.Gen. Somyot told reporters yesterday."

No they didn't. They could have ignored them and carried on doing their job.

Oh sure, and then accused by every one of you guys for not following up on a lead from the Press.

Thai police are screwed either way by TV posters. Dam**d if they do and dam**d if they don't.

Until I read that DNA samples taken from the family have been tested and cleared them, I will not believe they had no involvement. At no point have the police told us that DNA tests cleared them. They interviewed them 3 days ago and released them immediately stating they were cleared. It seems very clear that even if samples were taken, they had not been tested at that point, so how could they clear them?

Another issue is the reports of the argument in the AC bar in the hours before the attack was widely reported from they day after murders and yet the police didn't even look at this until they were pressured 8 days later. Then they make a cursory investigation and instantly clear them.

How can you defend the BIB for this debacle?

Even if they are DNA tested its very easy for the police (if they are corrupt) to send someones else DNA sample for testing, who can check this? As they see only $$$ sign behind everything and they know if a Thai or Thais are behind this they will lose money and face big time. Could be that their master plan is to blame anyone but a Thai for this crime.

[Lupatria]

After they played out all cards except one they held in hand I am waiting for the Ace of spades of statements made by officials:

"The murder and all things that went wrong in their "investigation" were caused by evil spirits."

[SPB65]

Speaking to Thais I hear that the general consensus amongst Thais is that the murderer is a farang.

Now there's a surprise.

[Thai at Heart]

Social media made them blame foreigners first?

Social media made them mess up the crime scene?

Social media made them fail to lock down the island adequately?

Just imagine a tourist destination island where you can't lock it down. As though 99.99% of people wouldn't have been happy to take a few extra days of paid holiday.

[dean008]

I am not sure how to set up an on line petition, but i would urge all here to contact the British PM via this link urging him to apply some pressure on the Thais and even offer assistance to find the real killers and help to bring a little bit of closure to the poor families.

here is the link, which I hope is allowed and if not I hope Thai Visa will have the decency to bend the rules

https://email.number10.gov.uk/

[tomyumchai]

This is what happens if you take a convicted pedo seriosuly, i told the whole forum he was a glory hunter from day one.

Who?

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/revealed-scot-who-fled-thai-4306609

thats the 2nd link that takes you to a page with no story but demands you fill in a questionaire. i dont fill in information on suspect links. is there a direct link with no b/s anywhere?

[Alwyn]

Media Parasites are a scourge everywhere.

Thanks alot CNN for introducing the world to 24/7 media coverage.

And when did the Press role become guiding investigations?

"When a reporter said the foreign media merely wanted to guide the police investigation in the right direction, Gen. Prayuth responded angrily, " Go ahead. If there's any information, they should find it and send it to us officially."

The Press is supposed to report the News. Period. Not guide investigations. Evidence is supposed to guide investigations. The General has it right, if the Press has useful information they should report it through official channels. Otherwise the Press is wasting police resources in order to sell papers.

Really? The police are not obligated to believe what they read in the press are they? Over 90% of crime is solved by the use of informants (in the UK anyway). An informants lead is treated just as that, a lead. The police don't believe it until they've confirmed it - or not as the case may be. One thing we do know is that the police have not got a fekkin clue as to what's happened and really, they should be happy to work any lead that comes their way as they're clearly incapable of developing their own leads. And I guess there's no chance of a bit of corruption filtering through is there? "It wasn't me, I was in BKK, so no need to DNA test me because I just told you so".

[tomyumchai]

Speaking to Thais I hear that the general consensus amongst Thais is that the murderer is a farang.

Now there's a surprise.

but if the suspet was a farang then surely they would be riding on each other shoulders to get at the reward money? what would they have to fear from the mafias if it wasnt 1 of theirs?

[chiang mai]

I am not sure how to set up an on line petition, but i would urge all here to contact the British PM via this link urging him to apply some pressure on the Thais and even offer assistance to find the real killers and help to bring a little bit of closure to the poor families.

here is the link, which I hope is allowed and if not I hope Thai Visa will have the decency to bend the rules

https://email.number10.gov.uk/

[slygeeza]

odd how the guy in bangkok didnt come out of hiding with his alibi till after his dad had had a nice chat with the police

[Brian Corrigan]

Police Claim Investigation Hindered By Media

I'm surprised its taken this long for them to find some one to blame for their incompetence.

[laobali]

I have read many idiotic comments on Thai Visa over the years but Cluster Clark deserves some kind of award for his work in this topic.

The Darwin or RTP Apologist?

[buhi]

Police Claim Investigation Hindered By Media

I'm surprised its taken this long for them to find some one to blame for their incompetence.

Many important witnesses are no longer on the island, namely the friends of the deceased plus Sean McAnna. I am sure the British police are following up on this, as what took place before the murders is vital evidence. Also trust the British police NOT to give vital evidence to the media and hopefully not even to Thai police at this stage, as it will be leaked immediately by them.

If this case ever gets to court, the shambles has made any fair trial impossible.

I am reminded of the Pistorius trial, no witnesses, no suspect , only motive to fire at a toilet door, with no intention to kill.

Here there were witnesses, as someone did it, probably more than two people!

I do not want to move the discussion to Pistorius, just pointing out that lawyers in a court can twist things to prove lack of reasonanble doubt.

Everything leaked by the police so far has absolutely provided reasonable doubt!

[jimbeam1]

Quote

According to Pol.Maj.Gen. Panya, police found no substance behind Mr. McAnna's accusation.

UnQuote

I said that at the beginning .

The man was obviously a fool and should be punished and jailed.

If not for working illegally , and accusing Thais of these crimes.

But for causing distress to the families of the deceased.

Lets see what the DNA turn up.

Very regrettable .

However , lets not use him as an excuse for the case running cold.

This is still an urgent case .

So everything the Thai police say is gospel? I see.

jb1

[Phuketboy]

This is what happens if you take a convicted pedo seriosuly, i told the whole forum he was a glory hunter from day one.

So it seems it's the reward offered by the public, which was 714,000 but has now been reduced to 700,000 after (expenses?) versus 1 million that says the family has done nothing wrong but hasn't supplied DNA....plus the undisclosed fee for private police to chase Sean into fear....maybe another 2 milll..

and another cop in dark sunnies looking just a little sus.pointing at a reward sign...but this is not the I didn't do it or I'll give you a million sign, this is the other one.....story just gets better..when will the official forensic reports reveal that Hannah was raped after she was SHOT and then attacked with a Hoe to cover the wounds and then raped after death...I have solid advice from those that know this is what happenned..photos prove it....where is the justice?

Ozzy, the 1 million was offered IF THEY COULD find any evidence to suggest that one of those family members were involved. NOT to say they didn't do it. Therefore, if the police wanted that money, it would be in their best interests to try and link the family to the murders. Gee, I wish people would read things correctly, before putting the wrong twist on things.