Koh Tao murders: Influential island figure vows to clear his son's name

[Lozza]

Whatever the British cops find out, or whatever they think, there are many steps to go through before any official position is taken. The cops are not free agents and there are many political and diplomatic niceties to be observed.

I would be very surprised if the final statement differed much from: "While we feel there were some procedural weaknesses during the initial investigation, we have no reason to believe that there are any faults with the conclusion reached by the Thai police", or some such meaningless statement.

Privately, the individuals may have doubts, but it would be a major incident if British cops were, in effect, permitted to overturn a Thai police investigation.

There's always a first...

[thailandchilli]

]

Yes. He is more powerful than both the army and the police, in a sense that neither will go after his family, under any circumstances. The only reason this has not "gone away" is due to the influence of the public and the relentless posts and peoples unwillingness to let it go. You cannot clear your sons reputation, as your son is as guilty as the day is long. And this is not the first crime he has committed. I realize your family is accustomed to getting off "Scot free" all these years. You have all been able to do whatever you want, whenever you want, to whomever you want. That is ending here. At least for now. Get used to being under the spotlight. Thank your unconscious son for that. He grew up surrounded with hundreds of millions of dollars. As a son of a family nobody touches. Now, he has attracted unwanted attention. Too bad. Pay the price for your behavior, and your lack of concern for people, and for society. You are not the best of what Thailand has to offer.

Neither will go after his family but police named them as suspects publicly and took the dad and brother to jail early on, interrogated them and demanded DNA testing which they complied to. The police further publicly accused the son and publicly claimed he fled the island after the murder based on hearsay only to find out he was not in the island at the time.

It is actually comical to believe this tiny island's headsman has such power over the entire police force and army ... something Thaksin and his family didn;t even has as PM.

So there goes that theory that police won;t touch them.

you miss some very important bits from your story

firstly the dad was never taken to jail, mon and his mate the off duty police were questioned after chasing

sean mcanna to the 7-11,mon was quoted as having a "word", the headman appeared and mon was free.

I have followed this case and no where have I read about any completed dna tests on their family until today.

on around the 23rd of September police announced that they had evidence linking mon and another suspect to the murders, there was cctv and other evidence and the other suspect had fled to bangkok.

by about the 25th of September a new police chief was placed in charge, the two family suspects became

x suspects and were not mentioned by the new police chief again.

you then have sondhi limthongkul the thai media mogul and leader of the new politics party appearing

on tv and telling every one that yes koh tao is a cover up with mafia involvement.

with all this plus the strange and ridiculous things that have had the world open mouthed since day one

of this investigation is it any wonder most people think there is something wrong here.

Zoza, you beat me to the punch. At least some of us are following this case closely. JTJ claims police "...took the dad and brother to jail" Not so. Dad never even saw a jail and Mon was merely interrogated for 3 hours. Let's not lose sight of the fact that the dad and his brother, Mon, are both heavyweights on the island, and bosom buddies with the cops, who they probably pay handsomely for maintaining the status quo. Mon is a handsome cat, with his wavy black hair, and is probably a hit with the pretty drunk farang chicks who frequent his popular beach bar. There's been online talk (admittedly rumors) that Sean supplied date-rape drugs to Mon and other Thai guys who score chicks at the bar. It's not hard evidence in this case, but it fits with the scenario of what may have happened the night of the crime, particularly when you add the younger handsome nephew, also with attractive curly black hair, whose daddy owns the bar. I'm not saying it's criminal to be handsome and score with a lot of loose farang chicks (with or without date-rape drugs), ....am just saying it fits with the type of scene one finds at a backpacker bar on a tropical island in Thailand. Oh, and buckets of booze flowing like tap water.

There's a real gang culture on Koh Tao that centers around getting laid to farrang chicks

[DennisF]

Police chief looking friendly, RTP doctor in RTP hospital.

Results in 24 hours when experts say a comparison is a 50 man hour job?

I was gonna run book on the results but thought I might lose cash!!

[Lozza]

Something is bothering me about the initial DNA thing.

Has there been a report/confirmation that categorically says the Burmese DNA matches the DNA profile from the semen found from Hannah? I'm talking direct here: Burmese DNA - Semen DNA.

Everything I've read suggests their DNA matches that found on a cigarette and then separately that DNA found on the cigarette matches that from the semen found from Hannah: Burmese DNA - Cigarette DNA - Semen DNA.

Surely if they are satisfied that the Burmese DNA matched the semen, they'd drop the bloody cigarette bit? Why the reluctance to do that?

If I've missed a report, please share the link.

Forget the cigg butt already. It has no bearing on guilt of anyone. Same for the unused condom.

The police claimed, right after arresting the Burmese, that their DNA matched the DNA found in the victim. Some on this thread has mentioned a 3rd person's semen found on victim's chest. That's a report I must have missed. The important DNA profiles now are the 2 or 3 found with the female victim. One main reason why there's so much debate online is: it's not clear whether that DNA profile is reliable. It's the police's word, and thus far (and in prior crime cases) Thai police have been shown to lie and/or nail scapegoats. Their credibility is in the mud.

Most of us (other than JTJ and JD) are hoping the Brit experts will clear things up. However, that could be a tall order because the Thai PM has explicitly hamstrung them by insisting they be no more than 'observers.'

I think the Brits will take the gentlemanly/diplomatic way out, and not say anything which will enrage their hosts. Afterwards, when they get to Beefeater Land, one will write a very interesting book about his all-expenses-paid trip to Thailand. I'd like to co-author it (I've had a dozen books published).

Is this Police claim documented anywhere public?

Yes,it has it's not something one would make up. You need to go to the beginning of the case and start from there.

[boomerangutang]

results of Nomsod's DNA won't match. Officialdom knew that before the did the publicity stunt, otherwise Nomsod, his dad, his lawyer and top police brass wouldn't have shown up for the event.

Does that mean the DNA trail is reliable? Do snakes and bunnies mate?

[lausie]

Something is bothering me about the initial DNA thing.

Has there been a report/confirmation that categorically says the Burmese DNA matches the DNA profile from the semen found from Hannah? I'm talking direct here: Burmese DNA - Semen DNA.

Everything I've read suggests their DNA matches that found on a cigarette and then separately that DNA found on the cigarette matches that from the semen found from Hannah: Burmese DNA - Cigarette DNA - Semen DNA.

Surely if they are satisfied that the Burmese DNA matched the semen, they'd drop the bloody cigarette bit? Why the reluctance to do that?

If I've missed a report, please share the link.

Forget the cigg butt already. It has no bearing on guilt of anyone. Same for the unused condom.

The police claimed, right after arresting the Burmese, that their DNA matched the DNA found in the victim. Some on this thread has mentioned a 3rd person's semen found on victim's chest. That's a report I must have missed. The important DNA profiles now are the 2 or 3 found with the female victim. One main reason why there's so much debate online is: it's not clear whether that DNA profile is reliable. It's the police's word, and thus far (and in prior crime cases) Thai police have been shown to lie and/or nail scapegoats. Their credibility is in the mud.

Most of us (other than JTJ and JD) are hoping the Brit experts will clear things up. However, that could be a tall order because the Thai PM has explicitly hamstrung them by insisting they be no more than 'observers.'

I think the Brits will take the gentlemanly/diplomatic way out, and not say anything which will enrage their hosts. Afterwards, when they get to Beefeater Land, one will write a very interesting book about his all-expenses-paid trip to Thailand. I'd like to co-author it (I've had a dozen books published).

Is this Police claim documented anywhere public?

Yes,it has it's not something one would make up. You need to go to the beginning of the case and start from there.

Love a bit of dry wit!

[Bleacher Bum East]

Something is bothering me about the initial DNA thing.

Has there been a report/confirmation that categorically says the Burmese DNA matches the DNA profile from the semen found from Hannah? I'm talking direct here: Burmese DNA - Semen DNA.

Everything I've read suggests their DNA matches that found on a cigarette and then separately that DNA found on the cigarette matches that from the semen found from Hannah: Burmese DNA - Cigarette DNA - Semen DNA.

Surely if they are satisfied that the Burmese DNA matched the semen, they'd drop the bloody cigarette bit? Why the reluctance to do that?

If I've missed a report, please share the link.

Forget the cigg butt already. It has no bearing on guilt of anyone. Same for the unused condom.

The police claimed, right after arresting the Burmese, that their DNA matched the DNA found in the victim. Some on this thread has mentioned a 3rd person's semen found on victim's chest. That's a report I must have missed. The important DNA profiles now are the 2 or 3 found with the female victim. One main reason why there's so much debate online is: it's not clear whether that DNA profile is reliable. It's the police's word, and thus far (and in prior crime cases) Thai police have been shown to lie and/or nail scapegoats. Their credibility is in the mud.

Most of us (other than JTJ and JD) are hoping the Brit experts will clear things up. However, that could be a tall order because the Thai PM has explicitly hamstrung them by insisting they be no more than 'observers.'

I think the Brits will take the gentlemanly/diplomatic way out, and not say anything which will enrage their hosts. Afterwards, when they get to Beefeater Land, one will write a very interesting book about his all-expenses-paid trip to Thailand. I'd like to co-author it (I've had a dozen books published).

You say the cigarette butt and condom don't matter?

If I was a defense attorney I would seriously beg to disagree.

Regarding the cigarette butt ... there have been two or three different reports of the DNA found on the butt.

I think the most recent is that it had the DNA of one of the accused and his friend the witness ... but it was not found at the log, but somewhere closer to the crime scene. The witness left around 1 pm, so that means it took the accused guy two plus hours to finish the cigarette and drop it close to the scene if it is really evidence of his presence there. There are possible explanations, but none convincing.

And here's an oldie but a goodie . . .

"Traces of the 23-year-old woman's DNA and that of one other person were found on a cigarette butt around 50 yards from where her body was found."

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/thailand-beach-murders-dna-found-hannah-witheridge-traced-two-men-thought-be-killers-1466412

Initial reports said that Hannah's DNA was also found on the cigarette butt. And if that report is true, then that blows the whole theory of the two Arakaneses guys saw them walk past, then snuck up on them and attacked them from behind almost completely out of the water.

Why does the condom with Hannah's DNA on it matter? . . . I'm out of breath so we'll save that for next time . . . but of course it matters to anyone investigating and trying the case, it didn't just materialize with her DNA on it out of thin air, and how it got there could be very material to the case. I don't know how it had only her DNA on it (when it was removed it went inside out, so her DNA was protected, but the man's DNA on the inside was washed away by saltwater with the tide? Guessing big time, I have no clue) ... but I pretty much guarantee a professional investigator would have a likely explanation.

The bottom line is that everything at the crime scene matters, both to the prosecution and the defense ... because ever little thing either incrementally helps the prosecution or the defense, and could potentially implicate a yet unknown person.

And speaking of oldies but goodies from the same IB Times, here's another one that matters:

"A garden hoe, thought to be the murder weapon, was found with Witheridge's blood on it nearby. Investigators are searching for a separate blunt metal object used to kill Miller."

[Norvid]

Whatever happens Thai police has has really bad image presented by all these media. This will stay for a long time and hunt them in every other case. Word "trust" is not friendly to them. I remember when word HONOR had a meaning. In today's world this word become twisted in honor killings, Thai face-loosing and even forgotten/unlearn, inconvenient by those who are just pure crooks, or beneficiary of not knowing it. Human animals coming back to their roots - animals. C'est la vie.

[ableguy]

The word vow is used liberally in Thailand, it annoys me as the media use it every day, does anyone understand what a vow means, not you guys but the Thais. I think it equates to no I do not lie, and coming from you know who ... Oh what the hell I vow I will change my negative attitude.

[rametindallas]

Woraphan Tuwichian said his son Warot “Nomsod” Tuwichian would present a sample

Will he present a sample that he got from a classmate or will he present himself to have a professional sample taken?

[Globeman]

Agree about the red bull guy too.

Yes but he gave proof of an alibi if his alibi is good why give DNA ? Its just that that people from websites who have not seen the real tapes of proving he was in BKK think that the one still is all that the BIB have and base it all on that. Why do people keep thinking they have the same access to all the case data as the BIB.

I don't trust the BIB much but just saying that people are basing all the stuff on incomplete data that they get from newspapers. Just ask how real police think about that.

In the absence of "complete" data that a famously corrupt police may be in possession of, while the public makes do with newspapers and social media, I think the only choice is to speculate, based on incomplete information. What else should we do? Shut up and let the police keep us in the dark? It could well be that they have the "data" that cats even more doubt on the suspect son, but choose not to act on it - or to suppress it.

Remember, it was social media (and its wild 'uninformed' speculations based on less data than the police had) that got the UK police here - not decency and love of rule of law on the part of the British government.

Most people knew in their guts and in the constant insults to their intelligence via police statements - incomplete data or not - that the whole case stunk to high heaven.

Conflicting police statements from the outset, no explanation of how the two wee Burmese lads could overpower their victims... the constant referral to the "bludgeoning" of David Miller, when his face and head are quite clearly covered in stab wounds. - This can be seen in the unedited photos the authorities have asked us not to look at in order not to "upset the victims' families" - whom I would imagine are already as upset as it is possible to be. So you're right, it is amazing what a little classified information can tell you.

And this is the whole point. It is exactly BECAUSE we don't have complete information that we should speculate - rightly or wrongly - on what really happened that night, and attempt to force the truth out into the light. If we don't, those thieving buffoons that call themselves a police force will keep right on stealing from the poor and protecting the rich.

[slim]

A man implicated in a double murder and the police haven't even DNA tested him?

This case will not fade away and die as the Police expect.

There should be a campaign to raise 10m baht to offer as a reward for information leading to the true killers.

As we all know - money talks in Thailand and 10m baht would loosen a few tongues.

.

[IslandLover]

monkeycountry, on 30 Oct 2014 - 03:48, said:

Unless the DNA tests are done by British police, it will not clear anything, as it is common knowledge that the Thai police (and their doctors), can be bribed into anything, especially by an influential person.

The DNA will not match, I think that's a given - too much money will have already changed hands. Nevertheless that still doesn't prove that he had nothing to do with the crime. Proof usually consists of thoroughly checking alibis, phone records, flight passenger lists, CCTV etc., etc. which probably has not been done. Besides which, nobody on that island will ever talk, because if they do, they will most likely meet with an unfortunate "accident". I fear this case will go the way of the Kirsty Jones case but I would rather it remained "unsolved" than see two innocent men (boys) convicted.

[englishoak]

monkeycountry, on 30 Oct 2014 - 03:48, said:

Unless the DNA tests are done by British police, it will not clear anything, as it is common knowledge that the Thai police (and their doctors), can be bribed into anything, especially by an influential person.

The DNA will not match, I think that's a given - too much money will have already changed hands. Nevertheless that still doesn't prove that he had nothing to do with the crime. Proof usually consists of thoroughly checking alibis, phone records, flight passenger lists, CCTV etc., etc. which probably has not been done. Besides which, nobody on that island will ever talk, because if they do, they will most likely meet with an unfortunate "accident". I fear this case will go the way of the Kirsty Jones case but I would rather it remained "unsolved" than see two innocent men (boys) convicted.

This is so high profile now, unsolved isnt going to go down well. It'll mean there will be a gang of rapists/murderers out there still,

That wont be great for tourist season or the image. It is I agree however much better than using scapegoats.

[CapFarmer]

Dear god, yap yap yap, has anyone bothered to click on this link http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/one-tourist-murder-suspect-now-arrested-another-run/ of todays date saying the police have already arrested Mon, the headman's brother and they are now seeking the headman's son who has fled to Bangkok

Head lines from said piece..................................One tourist murder suspect now arrested, another on the run

in General |September 23, 2014

(14,149 views)

History....they have been cleared since...................

Things in the past are history but the terminology of the statement cannot be changed.

"evidence which police collected were examined and proved he was involved"

" both suspects were captured by CCTV cameras and the police have gathered enough evidence to implicate them in the murders."

What changed? How can a Police Commisioner use the words "evidence," examined", "proved", and then state they were caught on CCTV and then these statements brushed aside.

Many posters complain about people using theories and insist posters use proper news and police statements to confirm or bolster their posts. This is from a commanding officer using words that accuse people of crimes and claims to have evidence to support it but now its brushed off as history.

How could a statement delivered to the press be so wrong? Maybe saying we believe or its possible then I could understand the confusion.

Maybe the "Evidence" they had in the beginning that the commander was so confident about should be observed by the UK Police.

If you accept "proved" here, surely you have to accept proved in other statements, as well as disproved

How can I accept it on both statements? That would mean both parties did it? Are you throwing your own conspiracy theories out there? Or they both didn't do it?

Please be a bit clearer in your statements. Maybe your too clever for me but it seems you just threw a quick retort out rather than answered my questions!

Exculpatory evidence disproved that statement. There were statements before and after. You are being disingenuous in taking only one as immutable.

Im not trying to win an argument here. I just want the right people charged. I am aware Mon attended the Police station and gave DNA and we were told he was not a match.

Im trying to get to the bottom of this and for the Police to use these words and to claim they have CCTV evidence of Nomsod on the island and then retract it is very strange in my eyes.

You seem 100 % percent convinced in your decision which i find a little strange considering the way this case has been handled. Even the prosecution isn't happy with it seeing all the evidence so i why are you so convinced when you are not privy to the evidence they have seen.

I think its important to explore all avenues.

Ever since this case started with all the things the Police said "Like a Thai could never do this" and then the gay smear against Davids friend this case has been a joke.

Im not sure we will get to the bottom of this case but lets live in hope!!

CCTV at night and an accusation from someone that he ran was the basis for the initial accusation.

I assume you have seen the CCTV still from the night. It is not clear enough to prove he was present.

Add to that the CCTV footage from BKK. The class records. Etc and you can exclude him. People are upset that all they had was a still from the BKK footage. They are ignoring that BKK police (not the 7 cops posted on the island) did the investigation. Everything else comes from anonymous claims from social media.

BKK police did not do any investigation. There was no investigation concerning the CCTV footage, class records, etc... There was a press conference with lawyers speaking. Nom was never properly cleared.

[SteveFong]

This has apparently backfired big time

In just 10 hours this thread has 306 more posts from when I last looked,

which, without reading them all are most likely 300 against the headman's effort to clear his son's name,

sometimes, that phrase, "thoust potestest too loudly" is the best advice a man can take

not here apparently

[SteveFong]

OK I'll put it out there!!

I reckon the British cops know exactly what is going on

This DNA of the Headman's son is for show purposes only.

This will calm the situation and give some people comfort on the island showing that no-one is above suspicion, including the cops. Things will cool down and things will get back to normal for a week or so.....sort of.

Then they will nail the true perpetrator. who I speculate is the football player with the stingray rings in a joint Thai/Brit operation and of course the BIB will be the heroes but who cares.

Just saying.

Yep, I suspect that stingray man and the fat hoe-man need to be investigated and DNAed. These guys left the island in a rush and returned when the boys were arrested.

is that a fact, that the two naes above did indeed flee the island, only to return after the suspicious arrests?

if so,

that is a bombshell

the RTP did make mention of a football group,

then, they didn't anymore

[Thaddeus]

This has apparently backfired big time

In just 10 hours this thread has 306 more posts from when I last looked,

which, without reading them all are most likely 300 against the headman's effort to clear his son's name,

sometimes, that phrase, "thoust potestest too loudly" is the best advice a man can take

not here apparently

An influential Thai take advice! when there are non-Thais involved, has that ever happened.

(P.S. it's..... The lady doth protest too much, methinks..... Hamlet...... a removal of testicles would be required, but not unwelcome)

[jdinasia]

Dear god, yap yap yap, has anyone bothered to click on this link http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/one-tourist-murder-suspect-now-arrested-another-run/ of todays date saying the police have already arrested Mon, the headman's brother and they are now seeking the headman's son who has fled to Bangkok

Head lines from said piece..................................One tourist murder suspect now arrested, another on the run

in General |September 23, 2014

(14,149 views)

History....they have been cleared since...................

Things in the past are history but the terminology of the statement cannot be changed.

"evidence which police collected were examined and proved he was involved"

" both suspects were captured by CCTV cameras and the police have gathered enough evidence to implicate them in the murders."

What changed? How can a Police Commisioner use the words "evidence," examined", "proved", and then state they were caught on CCTV and then these statements brushed aside.

Many posters complain about people using theories and insist posters use proper news and police statements to confirm or bolster their posts. This is from a commanding officer using words that accuse people of crimes and claims to have evidence to support it but now its brushed off as history.

How could a statement delivered to the press be so wrong? Maybe saying we believe or its possible then I could understand the confusion.

Maybe the "Evidence" they had in the beginning that the commander was so confident about should be observed by the UK Police.

If you accept "proved" here, surely you have to accept proved in other statements, as well as disproved

How can I accept it on both statements? That would mean both parties did it? Are you throwing your own conspiracy theories out there? Or they both didn't do it?

Please be a bit clearer in your statements. Maybe your too clever for me but it seems you just threw a quick retort out rather than answered my questions!

Exculpatory evidence disproved that statement. There were statements before and after. You are being disingenuous in taking only one as immutable.

Im not trying to win an argument here. I just want the right people charged. I am aware Mon attended the Police station and gave DNA and we were told he was not a match.

Im trying to get to the bottom of this and for the Police to use these words and to claim they have CCTV evidence of Nomsod on the island and then retract it is very strange in my eyes.

You seem 100 % percent convinced in your decision which i find a little strange considering the way this case has been handled. Even the prosecution isn't happy with it seeing all the evidence so i why are you so convinced when you are not privy to the evidence they have seen.

I think its important to explore all avenues.

Ever since this case started with all the things the Police said "Like a Thai could never do this" and then the gay smear against Davids friend this case has been a joke.

Im not sure we will get to the bottom of this case but lets live in hope!!

CCTV at night and an accusation from someone that he ran was the basis for the initial accusation.

I assume you have seen the CCTV still from the night. It is not clear enough to prove he was present.

Add to that the CCTV footage from BKK. The class records. Etc and you can exclude him. People are upset that all they had was a still from the BKK footage. They are ignoring that BKK police (not the 7 cops posted on the island) did the investigation. Everything else comes from anonymous claims from social media.

BKK police did not do any investigation. There was no investigation concerning the CCTV footage, class records, etc... There was a press conference with lawyers speaking. Nom was never properly cleared.

Wrong

[SteveFong]

This has apparently backfired big time

In just 10 hours this thread has 306 more posts from when I last looked,

which, without reading them all are most likely 300 against the headman's effort to clear his son's name,

sometimes, that phrase, "thoust potestest too loudly" is the best advice a man can take

not here apparently

An influential Thai take advice! when there are non-Thais involved, has that ever happened.

(P.S. it's..... The lady doth protest too much, methinks..... Hamlet...... a removal of testicles would be required, but not unwelcome)

that just reminded me,

i saw a picture of what i thought was the sister of Bruce Jenner today, and saw his name is now

Kris?

had no idea, he is now a she.............too much ham-let (sausage) apparently

[Cake Monster]

25 to 1 odds that plod already has their samples of DNA from the crime victims, and they will have gotten some from here somehow.

As for this young man being seen on CCTV at his apartment in Bangkok the morning after the murders happened, - Hhhhmmmm !

[IslandLover]

Krenjai, on 30 Oct 2014 - 12:52, said:

Lozza, on 30 Oct 2014 - 12:07, said:

He WAS on the island, he was caught on cctv shaking david's hand at 1.07 am.

Are you sure it was 1.07 am? Not 1.06 am? Or 1.08 am perhaps? The fact you are saying 1.07 am implicates you have seen CCTV footage confirming this? Please enlighten us all. Thank you!

BTW: I also believe he was there but your statement is indicating you know.

Here is the link to the video in question from SKY News

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-JlmE4GjaM

The handshake with the boy wearing the No. 9 shirt occurs at approximately 0.08 seconds in the CCTV video timestamped at 01:27:07 on 15/09/2014. I leave it up to you to decide whether it is Nomsod or not. I honestly don't know.

[Strangebrew]

He should have given DNA on day one why the wait? Hell I would have given mine if it was asked for to clear my name.

[Strangebrew]

He should have given DNA on day one why the wait? Hell I would have given mine if it was asked for to clear my name.

[Johnsen]

Good YouTube post.... IMO I believe that's Nomsod. I'll bet IF it is that football shirt has long since been thrown away.. What team does the football shirt represent...

[IslandLover]

englishoak, on 30 Oct 2014 - 18:45, said:englishoak, on 30 Oct 2014 - 18:45, said:

IslandLover, on 30 Oct 2014 - 18:39, said:IslandLover, on 30 Oct 2014 - 18:39, said:

monkeycountry, on 30 Oct 2014 - 03:48, said:monkeycountry, on 30 Oct 2014 - 03:48, said:monkeycountry, on 30 Oct 2014 - 03:48, said:

Unless the DNA tests are done by British police, it will not clear anything, as it is common knowledge that the Thai police (and their doctors), can be bribed into anything, especially by an influential person.

The DNA will not match, I think that's a given - too much money will have already changed hands. Nevertheless that still doesn't prove that he had nothing to do with the crime. Proof usually consists of thoroughly checking alibis, phone records, flight passenger lists, CCTV etc., etc. which probably has not been done. Besides which, nobody on that island will ever talk, because if they do, they will most likely meet with an unfortunate "accident". I fear this case will go the way of the Kirsty Jones case but I would rather it remained "unsolved" than see two innocent men (boys) convicted.

This is so high profile now, unsolved isnt going to go down well. It'll mean there will be a gang of rapists/murderers out there still,

That wont be great for tourist season or the image. It is I agree however much better than using scapegoats.

I think there are two possible outcomes:

1. The case will be "solved" at whatever cost, using the scapegoats already in custody

2. The case will remain "unsolved" and the real murderers/rapists will remain free, as has happened many times previously in Thailand.

"High-profile" is the optimum word here, so I expect outcome No. 1 will be the likely scenario.

Tourism and image will take a temporary hit but it will bounce back in no time. Nothing will stop the party animals from going to these islands, as long as the booze and drugs are flowing freely.

Of course a third, and best outcome would be that the real perpetrators of this crime are caught and punished, but realisticly I don't think this is going to happen.

[StealthEnergiser]

has the number 9 been identified ?

[mercman24]

why has everyones attention gone off at a tangent and concentrated on MON, at one time all posters were of the opinion that there were more than one person responsible, ie samples taken, (one man could not have created all this carnage) so why isnt there a hue and cry about tracing others, i bet if one of the (gang) was found he would spill the beans like a baby, so lets get back on track people. its just getting like follow the leader,

[StealthEnergiser]

I have just been looking at some clips you tube the first clip shows the police going to the crime scene and inspecting the hoe lying on the beach next to a condom.

The second youtube clips shows the hoe in a different area with a small fence around it .

Wouldn't the pollice take the hoe away for forensics ?

I hope the mods will allow these clips to put these clips up as it is a very important part of this case,

1st clip

2nd clip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47OYkmyOLP4

[Scott]

There are numerous topics running. I will close this one and you can comment on this topic:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/772718-dna-test-will-clear-my-son-koh-tao-headman/