Man says police beat him after he declines to be witness in Koh Tao murder cases

[bigjules007]

Only one way to hurt these people and that is to Boycott Koh Tao. I for one will not be visiting any of the Islands again!

[Thai at Heart]

Finally, one person with a moral compass. Thanks be for this. This man deserves a medal

[TV7]

he went to the kanman, who himself is suspected of surpressing evidence ?

How long until he will fall from a balcony, drown in unsafe waters, or is killed in a motorcycle accident ?

Why the press reveals his real name, doesn't get me. He is accusing the police of comitting a very heavy crime . . hope he has protection.

Me think the couple got murdered by a local who was at the bar, approached the girl and got rejected, then additionally confronted by her buddy partner. A typical case of Face Loss gone the killer road.

And got off the island at dawn on a speedboat and disappeared......and everyone knows who that is.....even the keystone cops must know

[IMA_FARANG]

The police are in panic mode.

Most of them on that island are little more than glorified security guards anyhow.

They have probably never had to deal with such a situation before...... few police in any country, especially in rural areas have ever actually dealt with a murder case.

The local police on the island are obviously out of their comfort zone.

Homicide investigators are a specialized branch of a large big city police force, and have specialized training.

Not likely to have well trained officers in a place like that island.

Took them a while to get some kind of response organized, and they lost the first couple of days which is a critical time for the first evidence to be found.

This is not a television crime show, it is real life with fallible people. No super detectives happened to be on holiday to take over the case like they do on T.V.

[TV7]

sadly, the above scenarios are on point, and the likely scenario

that the thai police are going to such lengths to cover this up and pin it on anyone but the guilty, is, not believable

Believe it because it's happening......right now......and unless the British government on behalf of the families stirs it's sorry arse and starts threatening the Thai junta with repercussions then this cover-up will succeed and like so many such crimes in Thailand, the perps will get off scot free

[khunjamesjohnson]

700,000Bt?

Thats a strange number.

I bet the police were given 1,000,000Bt to buy a witness but were skimming 300,000Bt.

No doubt.

[Lingba]

The families of the victims are getting a hard lesson in the Thai system..they must be devestated by all of this....

[T_Dog]

Can't find this story in either the Nation or the Bangkok Post. Why would they avoid covering it unless they were told not to?

[noitom]

First he tells them he knows nothing about the case. Then when he agrees to "cooperate," the Thai police beat him.

[jaapfries]

The plot thickens every day ......

Agatha Christie would be jealous of such a story.

Perhaps; but it sounds much more like a typical John Grisham story to me . . . . . . .

[SteveFong]

confuscious =

the inevitable illness which forms as a result of following a Thai crime investigation which produces a mixture of confusion and nausciousness

Edited September 30, 2014 by SteveFong

[nev]

if there were any real journalists on that island, they would do an interview with this guy and put it n youtube with a press release,

he is likely to accidentally die,

are there any high buildings there?

you do not need high building's on kho tao.

[Tatsujin]

So, that 1 million baht is being used wisely to in an attempt to deflect attention away from the real guilty parties and to prevent DNA samples from being taken from any of the (non-existent according to the Authorities) powerful/influential/mafia families on the island . . . it all makes sense now . . .

[LennyW]

"Thai man said he was beaten up by police after he turned down the police’ offer to give him reward money if he agreed to be a witness in the murder case of of the two British tourists in Thailand’s touristic island of Koh Tao, southern Surat Thani province"

This is probably the first truth to emerge from this farcical so called investigation!

[canman]

and police offered only 700.000

He (the village headman) offered 1 million baht if someone can prove him or anyone is his family to be guilty, NOT innocent. People seem to have this all backwards.

So, if someone can prove that his son is guilty, in this case, he will pay 1 million baht. If someone proves his son is innocent, no money will change hands.

Nevertheless, offering the police 1 million baht to prove one is guilty seems very "thai", overconfident, and suspicious.....

So why did they refuse to submit to a DNA test? Maybe they were not aware that such a test existed at the time that they offered the money. It seems rather obvious that the rapists and the killers are the same people, and all fingers are pointing at the head-man's son and a couple of accomplices. They should all be made to submit to a test.

Apparently the headmans brother had a DNA test done and found no match, the headmans son was apparently in Bangkok at the time of the murders and has an alibi - not sure if he was DNA tested or not, but after recent events could you even trust the DNA results

If that is true then it would be possible from the DNA to determine if the sample from the scene was from someone related to the brother.

[seabass69]

this whole sage seems to get dirtier and more bizarre by the hour.

I couldn't oregano any more than that!

I think it's thyme to spice up this investigation.

[brizzle]

If ever there was a reason to take your child out of Thailand to give them a decent education this is it. Even the ''police'' where one would hope a basic concept of intelligence would exist show a distinct lack of it.

If the police are this bad then what about the rest of Thai society? It beggars belief to be perfectly honest.

I am so glad that I got my daughter out of there to give her a decent chance in life. One day (I hope) she can go back to Thailand as an educated person and help to make the country a better place.

[thedoctor]

Is the New P,M ,a member of Tv if so does he read this topic,

if not can somebody send him a copy of all this topic,

He must want to sort this mess out surely

[boomerangutang]

A few days after the crime, police brass announced; "we will request FBI assistance."

15 minutes later, policeman's tel rings, he's overheard saying, "Yes, Kanman. I said that. Uh, what's that? Yes I hear you, you're saying 'this is a Thai issue so we should not call in outside help. Ok.'"

20 minutes later, the police chief makes an updated announcement: "Neither FBI nor any other farang experts will be requested to assist. This is Thailand and we can do the investigation ourselves."

[IamNoone88]

I guess the police are frustrated because these local people must know something and are saying nothing. The truth is out there, but people are being protected.

[SOTIRIOS]

...outrageous....

[Card]

If true, this proves the investigation is totally off the rails.

And this is EXACTLY the main reason why Thailand should abolish the death penalty. It only takes one false witness (to be sure) and an admission of guilt to cause the death of innocents. Easy, peasy.

[ChrisY1]

Dear fellow TV members......

Based on what we read -hear - and see in this dramatic handling by the authorities.........

Do you think that AURA has anything to do with KARMA ?

Or ?

Do you agree with me that ones AURA is related to public perceptions : and that KARMA is the ultimate result of a distracted AURA?

Since I think that this drama is KARMA,

Shouldn't read too much of this stuff........it distracts from the real world

[Iumentum]

This actually might be a development. If the PM or someone can step in, find out who backed the 700,000 baht witness fee. Following the money might lead to the perps.

They come from different sources, as an example a board member of Orient Thai Airways added 500.000 baht to the reward. Makes sense that some people are interested in the case to be "solved" so their business can continue, it doesn't mean that they are involved.

[shocky2004]

Not sure about that...

But karma will definitly prevail.

The truth shall out!!!

R.I.P Hannah and David

Justice shall pevail

[JoeLing]

Not sure about that...

But karma will definitly prevail.

The truth shall out!!!

R.I.P Hannah and David

Justice shall pevail

Karma?

Do good and you will be abused.

Do bad and you get a new Ferrari.

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

"Thai man said he was beaten up by police after he turned down the police’ offer to give him reward money if he agreed to be a witness in the murder case of of the two British tourists in Thailand’s touristic island of Koh Tao, southern Surat Thani province"

This is probably the first truth to emerge from this farcical so called investigation!

This guy must be their "Key Witness" that they boasted about before.

[wirat69]

this whole sage seems to get dirtier and more bizarre by the hour.

I couldn't oregano any more than that!

Give it thyme...

[ScotBkk]

This farcical murder investigation circus act gets worse by the day. No matter what anyone here in TV has to say' Police in civilised countries never purposely look for scapegoats, especially in something as heinous as these 2 poor Brits on holiday.

This just goes to show how far Thais will go to sacrifice anything or everything to keep up the tourist ratings. It defies logical thinking for us everyday normal Farangs who see this as a mockery and an insult to our fellow citizens around the Globe seen as easy walking talking ATM. machines.with endless cash and should therefore be privileged to part with every penny to the Thai coffers.....

Edited October 1, 2014 by ScotBkk

[JoeLing]

He decided to tell this story to others since the police planned to interrogate him again on Tuesday and
he feared to be beaten up again. He added that he does not plan to pursue case against the police, but
wants to assert his innocence

No pictures with bruises I suspect?
Worried about defamation charges?