Koh Tao: Thai court charges pair over murders of British backpackers

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BREAKING NEWS

Thai court charges pair over murders of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller


The bodies of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found on a Thai beach on 15 September
Source: Internet

KOH SAMUI: -- A court has charged two Burmese men with the murder of two British tourists in Thailand earlier this year.

Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, both 21, are accused of killing Hannah Witheridge and David Miller on the island of Koh Tao in September.

The two men deny killing the tourists, having both retracted confessions made to police several months ago.

The suspects, both migrant workers, could be executed if found guilty.

BBC Southeast Asia correspondent Jonathan Head said the investigation has been marred by allegations of police incompetence and of confessions extracted by torture.

The indictment was unexpectedly brought forward by three hours, meaning the suspects did not have time to be brought from prison to hear the charges, our correspondent said.

They were arrested two months ago and this week a lawyer for the suspects urged friends of the victims to come forward with information.

Nakhon Chompuchat said the victims' friends "should know many things" about what happened and could "prove the true situation".

The public prosecutor has sent the police dossier back three times asking for better evidence, but now says the case against the accused is solid.

Thai police have been criticised for their handling of the case, and Mr Zaw's mother has said her son is being made a "scapegoat".

As well as the alleged murders and rape, Mr Zaw and Mr Win are also accused of conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to rape and robbery.

The suspects - from Myanmar, also known as Burma - confessed to the murders, which they later retracted, claiming they had been tortured.

The bodies of Miss Witheridge, 23, from Hemsby in Norfolk, and Mr Miller, 24, from Jersey, were found on a beach in the popular tourist destination on 15 September.

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

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-30315134


-- BBC 2014-12-04

[seajae]

now all the sh*t begins anew, will the truth emerge or will we see the thai courts/police cover it all up to save face, only time will tell........

[jabis]

What a swell start - not having the accused present to hear the charges against them.

[tomacht8]

"The indictment was unexpectedly brought forward by three hours, meaning the suspects did not have time to be brought from prison to hear the charges,"

What?

The defendants have not heard the accusation?
A technical trial error?

[lildragon]

Stitch up job and the corruption on this goes all the way to the top. Sickening.

[stickyrice2000]

Did I miss the court hearing news? The court finalized the decision already?

[AGareth2]

what do they need the presense of the accused for?

verdict is already decided

[Costas2008]

"The indictment was unexpectedly brought forward by three hours, meaning the suspects did not have time to be brought from prison to hear the charges,"

What?

The defendants have not heard the accusation?

A technical trial error?

No error......this is Thailand.

Orders came from above to speed it up.

As said before the outcome has been decided already.

Technical trial error would be the last of their worries.

What the media will say outside Thailand should worry them a bit.

[jabis]

BBC correspondent tweeted that 'there was no explanation given why the court failed to bring the suspects to hear the charges and plead their case'. Come monday (8th of Dec.) at 9 am, the B2's plead hearing will commence.

[Evolare]

It's a sad day to see corruption is alive and well in the LOS. Seems nothing has changed after all...I for one was hopeful things would change this time...that hope is fading fast when they have this ad-hoc legal system.

[Suffinator]

I'm not surprised to hear that they weren't present for the hearing ... after all this is a done deal; as far as the Thai police and judicial system is concerned they are already guilty.

I've witnessed some farces in my time but the Thais take the biscuit when it comes to incompetence, cover-ups and outright corruption. I for one am glad I left and that my money no long supports such a vile country.

[007cableguy]

Lived here for 13 years and I must admit I'm getting sick of the unbelievable shit that these fools do on a day to day basis!

[Anthony5]

"The indictment was unexpectedly brought forward by three hours, meaning the suspects did not have time to be brought from prison to hear the charges,"

What?

The defendants have not heard the accusation?

A technical trial error?

Indeed a valid question, which someone with knowledge about Thai law can answer.

Another unanswered question is why there was a need to bring it 3 hours forward.

[easybullet3]

What happened with the UK Police that were allowed to come here? did anything happen there? what was their findings?

[Anthony5]

"The indictment was unexpectedly brought forward by three hours, meaning the suspects did not have time to be brought from prison to hear the charges,"

What?

The defendants have not heard the accusation?

A technical trial error?

No error......this is Thailand.

Orders came from above to speed it up.

As said before the outcome has been decided already.

Technical trial error would be the last of their worries.

What the media will say outside Thailand should worry them a bit.

A technical trial error, if this indeed is one, would mean no legal verdict can be reached and the whole trial will be canceled.

[Tubby]

Shame once again falls on Thailand. Saving face at the expense of innocent people and the devastation these murders cause to the families.

Boycott Thailand.

[Chang_paarp]

RT @pakhead: Complete fiasco at Koh Samui court for #kohtao murder. Prosecutor presented charges but 2 Burmese suspects not there to hear them.

That from the BBC journalist Jonathan Head. Differs from the OP also from the BBC. The left and right hands are not talking.

[KamalaRider]

What the media will say outside Thailand should worry them a bit.

It won't, not until the western world starts using financial sanctions against Thailand, which they won't.

[tomacht8]

"The indictment was unexpectedly brought forward by three hours, meaning the suspects did not have time to be brought from prison to hear the charges,"

What?

The defendants have not heard the accusation?

A technical trial error?

Indeed a valid question, which someone with knowledge about Thai law can answer.

Another unanswered question is why there was a need to bring it 3 hours forward.

On the other side, it is only 5 minutes by car from Koh Samui prison to the court room!!!

[Docno]

"The indictment was unexpectedly brought forward by three hours, meaning the suspects did not have time to be brought from prison to hear the charges,"

What?

The defendants have not heard the accusation?

A technical trial error?

No error......this is Thailand.

Orders came from above to speed it up.

As said before the outcome has been decided already.

Technical trial error would be the last of their worries.

What the media will say outside Thailand should worry them a bit.

Orders from above? Costas, I thought you were an avid supporter of the unelected regime? The halo is starting to slip, is it?

[apalink_thailand]

Sad to say but this case was effectively decided months ago.

[Kees5555]

Show me the sperm found inside the female victim !
Send it to a lab in a western country !

[Anthony5]

"The indictment was unexpectedly brought forward by three hours, meaning the suspects did not have time to be brought from prison to hear the charges,"

What?

The defendants have not heard the accusation?

A technical trial error?

Indeed a valid question, which someone with knowledge about Thai law can answer.

Another unanswered question is why there was a need to bring it 3 hours forward.

On the other side, it is only 5 minutes by car from Koh Samui prison to the court room!!!

I don't think the Burmese boys have a car.

[CockneyGit]

I can't believe that they are actually going through with this. These two poor young lads will be found guilty just so the Thai Govt. can save a bit of face.

Come on the U.N, time to step in now.

Farcical..!!

[Cuchulainn]

May the judges be judged in time to come (aka facing the Big Cheese upstairs).

[Darbar]

allegations of police incompetence

Thats putting it VERY lightly...

How about "The RTP proved to the world how extremely incompetent they are, and how much they couldn't give a damn about justice"

[Anthony5]

How the <deleted> can you charge someone with double murder, and "forget" to bring the accused to the court on time!!

Welcome to the Thai lottery of justice!! Where your changes of winning improves significantly, if you can afford to buy all the tickets!!

Meanwhile the Red Bull kid is sniffing his cocaine in Singapore!!

They didn't forget to bring the accused, the indictment was brought forward by 3 hours, for till now unknown reasons.

[surfinglife]

Nobody here seems to even consider a possibility that these two may actually be guilty....

[Docno]

Strange turn for things to take. But it's quite possible that the reading of the charges is simply seen as a formality. In other places, this would be the time at which the defendants would formally enter their pleas (though I think that sometimes, for certain charges, the pleas will automatically be entered as 'not guilty'). Anyway, the important stuff happens when both sides present their cases, which apparently is what will happen on Monday.

Here's a description of the Thai legal process [sorry if posted previously]: http://www.prisonersabroad.org.uk/uploads/documents/countries/Thailand_Legal_system.pdf

[Freed1948]

The ongoing saga continues.

I'm not sure what the right outcome should be, but I'm concerned about what seems to be a cover-up after cover-up.

I just hope the judge is fair and takes EVERYTHING into consideration.