Thailand agrees to British police help over murders

[Baerboxer]

The only question is : did the British perform such a sampling or did the body of this poor girl go untouched after entering British soil ? I don't recall reading anywhere, clearly, that British authorities had made such a move after recovering the body.

Of course they did. They are complete pro's, just like American cops, German cops, etc. Just because they didn't inform you or anyone else in the media - they always do their job.

Knock the Brits, the Americans, the Aussies, etc. all you want. But one thing for sure, they all have well-trained professional cops.

do you have proof of this?

No he doesn't, you have to read the news for decades & have freedom of thought to come to his conclusion.

And the ability to open your mind to the thoughts of other people and not believe everything you read.

[KOZMO]

Many questions need answers. Man seen running away wearing victims shorts the mobile phone, certain peoples refusal for dna and many more maybe the brits can clear some of these up

Don't forget the 1 million baht and how about a dna of the rich guys sons????

[Baerboxer]

Good at sniffing out porkie pies is the plod.

Indeed they are. And very good, usually, at digging out all the detail and evidence. It's the detail that often catches the criminals.

The British police won't normally allow the media or social media to influence them. They won't come with pre-decided opinions of guilt and innocence based on the wild speculations on social media sites, hearsay, and contradictory press reports allegedly based on "police sources".

I would imagine the chubby footballer with the shark tooth ring, photographed close to Hannah in a group photo on the night might be a witness they'd like to question. Along with some people on the island or those who have since moved to other parts of Thailand. The independent DNA tests will provide an answer on the 2 current suspects. Hopefully they have their own DNA samples from the victim, can confirm if there was a third sample as a Thai forensics person said on TV, and can take samples from the suspects themselves.

I'm sure the team sent will be selected very carefully.

You should look at a few details too.

The Thai forensic person said there was DNA from 2 people not 3. Sorry to repeat myself but I think a false piece of information like that can dramatically influence a persons view.

Maybe you should practice what you preach!

On a TV interview a Thai forensic's person, sitting with a policeman, said that 3 DNA samples where detected on the victim's nipple. 2 matched the suspects. The third was not identified but did not match David's. This does not seem to have been pursued by the RTP. This was also posted on ThaiVisa.

You can repeat yourself as much as you want - still be wrong though.

[Johnsen]

Anymore news on this boat 'little duck' allegedly seen living the island at high speed early on the morning of the murders... Any proof it has now been burned so as to cover the escape of the alleged murderers. Was this boat owned by the police. Who was driving it????

[HeijoshinCool]

So does this mean the owner of the AC Bar is going to wire transfer 1 million baht to Scotland yard when the investigation, by pros, is completed?

Guess he'd have to have access to his account from jail….

[Baerboxer]

Proving it's not these two Burmese lads is fairly easy. Once it's proved it's not them then, hopefully the real culprits are caught....

Unlike you Franky, the British police won't decide who is guilty or innocent before actually knowing.

So DNA samples won't prove with these lads did it or not? When did the science change mate?

The DNA samples should confirm if the 2 currently arrested suspects are guilty or innocent. That was the point I was making. Your OP suggested the result is already known. It isn't although a lot seem to have already decided who is guilty and innocent before any independent testing.

[ParadiseLost]

They could have started by questioning the expats living and working on KT, but that is highly unlikely now as these people have been breaking the law and cannot be considered reliable witnesses. These people are an embarrassment to the UK now.

All Illegal expats are in a very tenuous situation; if their protectors are exposed then they have been consorting with known criminal types and this will be used against them in the UK.

I would also submit that the KT police are suddenly going to want to get rid of all signs of corruption, which could begin with exposure of expats contravening immigration laws - a way to discredit the nation now interfering in local business...

[thailandchilli]

Spreading to the USA, taken from the CSI page

Edited October 18, 2014 by thailandchilli

[heyexile]

Mind you..... There is still this difference of opinion between Prayuth and Somyat, because The Nation is spinning the opposite story.

Foreign investigators barred from Thailand: police chief

"No matter what laws are taken into account, be it Britain's laws or those of other countries, foreign investigators cannot take part in cases that take place in Thailand as this would violate the Kingdom's sovereignty," the police chief insisted.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/webmobile/national/Foreign-investigators-barred-from-Thailand-police--30245741.html

So Prayuth is saying Yes, and his mate is saying no..... Are they still connected on LINE or what?

Unless Prayuth has been stupidly trusting Somyat all this time and the latter obviously knowing a bit more of what is actually going on.

Yes, thanks. That was only yesterday top cop Police Commissioner General Somyot refused. In the same article he goes on to say that the Ambassadors have been informed of TH position. Remember good general Somyot is a hand-picked appointee of good general Prayuth. Trouble at the top.

Too little, too LATE? Investigation already pronounced perfect by Prayuth and Somyot. Accused already pronounced guilty. British investigators will need interpreters and authorities will bury them under disinformation.

"When constabulary duty `s to be done, a policeman`s lot is not a happy one."

The Telegraph reports "Mr Cameron raised the issue with Thailand`s military dictator."

[ParadiseLost]

If I was to suggest a start, two questions come to mind immediately:

The police reported that cctv footage from all the local cameras was to be inspected. Is there a list of these cameras, and where is the original footage.

It was reported during an interview with police investigators on a national news channel (3) that a third DNA trace exists - saliva found on the female's torso - if this is true, why is it not in the 'case'?

This has to be hugely embarrassing for every single hi-so in this country. Good - the actions of your peers are beyond contempt.

[pendingo]

Bear in mind everything is now "fixed" so I doubt there will be much for the British detectives to go on.

It's good that finally some action is being taken but I'm afraid too little, too late.

All we can hope for is the UK sends a top investigation team and they are allowed full access to everything they ask for and not just what the RTP wants them to see.

Fairness and justice both for the victims and their families and the accused and their families have to be seen to be done if Thailand is to regain its credibility in the world otherwise it has a lot more to lose than just face.

[Baerboxer]

All nice and good.. but lets wait what happens. Remember these are people who don't speak Thai, I wonder if they take an independent translator with them.

If they are being stonewalled still nothing will happen.

Huh? Of course the British detectives will send some of their Thai and Burmese speaking detectives with them. Remember, these are PROFESSIONAL police. Do you really think they will forget about this issue????

How many detectives do you think there are serving in British police forces, that can speak Thai, Burmese, and the dialect of the 2 suspects fluently enough to conduct an investigation and interviews?

Maybe better to use the embassies' translators.

[motlau]

Sounds great ,no doubt when the body of the poor girl was returned to UK ,DNA samples must have been collected ,very simply all the detectives need to do is to personally obtain a sample from each of the accused and job done --at least regarding these two

[elektrified]

All nice and good.. but lets wait what happens. Remember these are people who don't speak Thai, I wonder if they take an independent translator with them.

If they are being stonewalled still nothing will happen.

Huh? Of course the British detectives will send some of their Thai and Burmese speaking detectives with them. Remember, these are PROFESSIONAL police. Do you really think they will forget about this issue????

How many detectives do you think there are serving in British police forces, that can speak Thai, Burmese, and the dialect of the 2 suspects fluently enough to conduct an investigation and interviews?

Maybe better to use the embassies' translators.

There are some 100%.

[Johnsen]

What about the banana pancake man. Is he Thai. What's his official capacity on the island. Does he have a work permit or a passport. Does he have accreditation to officially translate in a police investigation. R u allowed to have 2 work permits, one for pancakes and one for translation. I thought cooking pancakes was a job reserved for Thais only.

Matters not I suppose, I think its what Cameron said was one of the major concerns wasn't it... Something about forced confessions or police brutality..

What's his punishment for working without permits and smacking people about. Why is he wearing a police shirt. Who sold him that. Isn't that illegal... I'm so confused.... Is he still selling pancakes.

[Number 3]

The only question is : did the British perform such a sampling or did the body of this poor girl go untouched after entering British soil ? I don't recall reading anywhere, clearly, that British authorities had made such a move after recovering the body.

Of course they did. They are complete pro's, just like American cops, German cops, etc. Just because they didn't inform you or anyone else in the media - they always do their job.

Knock the Brits, the Americans, the Aussies, etc. all you want. But one thing for sure, they all have well-trained professional cops.

When was her body repatriated to the UK? Was there enough time for her corpse to be 'cleaned' and then inseminated with the Burmese guys's DNA? Just saying ...

Not sure about the insemination bit of course, but I did hear that the bodies were "cleaned" in Thailand prior to repatriation.early on the public was advised that the bodies were immediately taken to a local temple but later we were advised that they had been frozen somewhere before arriving at the police forensic department. Freezing distorted the ability to determine the time of death. In short - who knows until the REAL cops get here.

[UDONJIM]

Hey guys,

Let's just understand that the British government will not be sending out a few amateurs to investigate these atrocious murders. They will be seasoned experienced cops with 'international' crime investigation skills. I'm a Brit and maybe a bit biased but factually the British police force is among the best in the world - no doubts. So the cops who do arrive, won't be here for a 'jolly', that's for sure. Apart from anything else, the world is watching.

It could be that Thai naivete about the ability of some foreign police forces to conduct a proper investigation has made the general agree to this - could turn out to be a Trojan horse for Thailand.

So, it's quite obvious if, firstly, the DNA does not match or has been tampered with (and there will be independent testing done)then the game's up already. As for all the other discrepancies in this investigative sham, the Brit police will definitely pursue them.

They have to or no proper conclusion can be reached. People on here must understand if the Thai authorities purposely withhold, distort or twist evidence, then this will be reported to the international media and a s--tstorm of great magnitude will descend on Thailand. I personally think that that's exactly what will happen.

On the other hand, if the two Burmese men are truly guilty then the general really comes up smelling of roses on the world stage but I think he's miscalculated big time. Yeah, Trojan horse.

[bongoz]

I am not sure but have the bodies been sent back to UK or are they still in Thailand.

The UK police/authorities need to do a full post mort on the bodies and get some new DNA samples unless the Thai police have had the victims cleaned.

The also need to take there own translator.

I can see the UK police will have their hands tied, with firm instructions from the UK government to not upset the Thai Police.

I personally think this will be a waste of time, they will not have freedom to do their own thing.

Perhaps it's wise to read about the case before commenting. Not knowing the most basic of facts...

OH! and ensure the brain is engaged before operating your mouth.

[johna]

Many of you think the Brit police will solve this crime, but do you remember the Kirsty Jones murder in Chiang Mai, despite Brit police involvement nothing was resolved.

Thai police simple stonewalled the Brit's all the way, and there was never any Brit government complaint.

[jonesthebaker]

hmmm, brains versus sh** for brains. should be interesting

[Jip66]

So much for Local Drunk and his entire day of trying to convince everyone that the petition was useless and wouldn't make any difference here..... Lol

I suspect large servings of 'humble pie' for breakfast now that Koh Tao will soon have 'The Plod' sniffing around.

I would call that a massive difference.

I bet certain bums are going to be squeaking on that island when they read this.

I suspect certain people will be on the first boat off and onto the first plane to Cambodia.

The British police will quickly eliminate the two young lads, and then make a list of suspects. They will surely be picking up Mr McCanna to find out what he knows.

This is going to be like peeling a banana.

Yes 'Local Drunk', you can just go sit back on your barstool & shut your big mouth over this matter

Quote: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/webmobile/national/Foreign-investigators-barred-from-Thailand-police--30245741.html

"The British law stipulates that an e-petition with at least 100,000 signatures can be brought to and debated in the House of Commons."

Unquote:

[bongoz]

Did it ever occur to some of you lot that these guys are as guilty as sin and there has been no fit up?

If the Thai were to hinder the British Police from doing a proper investigation as been suggested they won't be too long in letting the world know about it.

To me all the Doubting Thomas's have achieved by slagging the RTP at every chance is to blacken the name and do further damage of the country most of you live in.

These guys were paraded in front of the public rinacted the crime for all to see and not one chirp out of them.

How stupid are you people. Put yourself in their place.

If you were innocent and knew you were facing the death penalty would you not shout patsy at the first chance you got?

So what if you got a beating later for crying out......according to them they had been beaten already.

Not until their lawyers came on board did we hear about beating..........the only possible defense they have.

Of course they are going to say they confessed under duress but could it possibly be that's what they were told to say ?

Of course the were beaten but it couldn't have been that's what they were told to say now could it?

IMVHO The lawyers are depending on public opinion to try and get these guys off and you lot are playing right into their hands.

I sincerely hope the British Police do get full access and back up the RTP and they throw everything the doubting Thomas's have said straight back in their faces.

It's a bad day in hell when a Prime Minister of any country is forced into a situation like this because idiots believe that every single policeman in Thailand is bent to such a degree

Common sense should tell you no top policeman with half a brain is going to put his head on the chopping block in a high porfile case like this with the Army looing over their shoulder

What do you think would happen to those if Prayut found out these boys had been stitched up?

I was going to comment on this post, but I really can't be ar*sed. Tanlic you are delusional...

[Franky Bear]

Hey guys,

Let's just understand that the British government will not be sending out a few amateurs to investigate these atrocious murders. They will be seasoned experienced cops with 'international' crime investigation skills. I'm a Brit and maybe a bit biased but factually the British police force is among the best in the world - no doubts. So the cops who do arrive, won't be here for a 'jolly', that's for sure. Apart from anything else, the world is watching.

It could be that Thai naivete about the ability of some foreign police forces to conduct a proper investigation has made the general agree to this - could turn out to be a Trojan horse for Thailand.

So, it's quite obvious if, firstly, the DNA does not match or has been tampered with (and there will be independent testing done)then the game's up already. As for all the other discrepancies in this investigative sham, the Brit police will definitely pursue them.

They have to or no proper conclusion can be reached. People on here must understand if the Thai authorities purposely withhold, distort or twist evidence, then this will be reported to the international media and a s--tstorm of great magnitude will descend on Thailand. I personally think that that's exactly what will happen.

On the other hand, if the two Burmese men are truly guilty then the general really comes up smelling of roses on the world stage but I think he's miscalculated big time. Yeah, Trojan horse.

Totally agree. Also there'll be members of the British press pack on their way out that are not afraid to report the truth unlike Western press pack member that work in Thailand and the region that don't have the bottle to give facts out

[Oziex1]

Doesn't matter what the Thais show or don't show the British police or what they say. The Brits will see everything they need to see and will report, and the report will be damning of the RTP no doubt. Will justice be done ?

[bongoz]

In any case they are not coming for "a few weeks"----- can you imagine the scramble that is now going on to get rid of anything and everything that might point to a cover up----- sorry guys but much too late

Who knows where those two boys will be by then !!!!!!!

You obviously know nothing of forensic science.

It's as easy to spot tampering as it is in taking a DNA sample.

These guys can spot tampering amile away.

If the sperm sample in the bodies were removed and replaced they would know immediately

How?

[Franky Bear]

Many of you think the Brit police will solve this crime, but do you remember the Kirsty Jones murder in Chiang Mai, despite Brit police involvement nothing was resolved.

Thai police simple stonewalled the Brit's all the way, and there was never any Brit government complaint.

So many different factors in play now, the main ones being social media, Thai nationals voicing their concerns about a stitch up, the mass international attention and throw in the Junta and the other internal problems Thailand has.

[Lite Beer]

UK police to join in probe of British tourist murders

UK police officers are to travel to Thailand to help investigate the murders of two British tourists found dead on the island of Koh Tao, BBC reported yesterday.

BBC claimed that Thai Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan-o-cha has dropped objections to accepting help in the case after being pressed on the issue in a meeting with UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

The bodies of David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, were discovered on a beach last month.

Two Burmese men are under arrest.

The police investigation into the murders has been widely criticised. The UK Foreign Office summoned the Thai charge d’affaires earlier this week to express concern.

Gen Prayuth met Mr Cameron at a summit in Italy and agreed that a delegation of British officers could travel to Thailand, having previously rejected offers of assistance.

BBC quoted diplomatic source as saying Thai authorities were leading the investigation, but it was important that “both of the families can be reassured that it is the murderers that have been brought to justice”.

The diplomatic said: “There are two areas we are particularly concerned about. One is the verification of the DNA samples of the suspects, making sure there is further independent verification.

“And the second is the investigation into allegations of mistreatment of the suspects.

“What the PM secured this morning was agreement from the Thai PM that we can send some British police investigators to Koh Tao to work with the Royal Thai Police on this,” BBC said.

The discussion between the leaders came at the Asia Europe Meeting in Milan.

Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, both migrant workers from Myanmar, apparently confessed to the killings earlier this month.

Thai police have denied subsequent reports that the pair, both aged 21, then withdrew their confessions.

Both were in court for a pre-trial witness hearing on the island of Koh Samui on Tuesday, but did not testify.

They are charged with conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to rape and robbery, and could face the death penalty if found guilty.

Post-mortem examinations found Mr Miller, from Jersey, died from drowning and a blow to the head, while Miss Witheridge, from Great Yarmouth, died from head wounds.

Police have said DNA found on Ms Witheridge matched samples taken from the suspects.

Concerns about the murder investigation include the fact the crime scene was not sealed off after the killings as well as the fact an early statement was released by police saying that no Thai person could have committed such a crime.

Mr Zaw’s mother Phyu Shwe Nu has said her son was being made a ‘scapegoat’ by Thai police, BBC said.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/uk-police-join-probe-british-tourist-murders/

-- Thai PBS 2014-10-18

[TomJoad]

My Prediction: The DNA results will match. Some will then claim the results were somehow rigged by the Thai police. The two will be convicted anyway. And so it goes..

[Johnsen]

Mistreatment of the subjects, doesn't that relate to the illegal, no work permit, no visa banana pancake man.. Guess he's in the you know what up to his eye balls.

[bongoz]

Nothing is going to change much. UK police have no authority outside of their own country. They can only work within what Thai authorities allow. Pretty much what going to happen is Thai police will give the brits some tour, show some evidences, let them re-verify the evidences, take some of their opinions, and at the end they will agree with Thai police on most things. Case resolved. Basically just a show to satisfy interests of both sides. Nothing more than politics.

And do you also have next week's lottery numbers?

Thanks.

But but I have last weeks...