Koh Tao - Witnesses 'scared to testify' over Brit tourist murders: Thai lawyer

[JLCrab]

I wish i was a witness. I would testify without a second thought.

But not in in Thailand you would not survive 24 hours.

To be brave is a good thing, but stupidity is an other thing and they are sometimes very close almost like twins.

Yes but if he testified and was murdered shortly thereafter it would go a long way toward the credibility of his evidence.

[spidermike007]

only chance they have if innocent is serious action from UK police/government if they have any consummate evidence to blow it wide open beyond doubt & beyond cover-ups & lies !!

I would like a report from UK regardless of what it supports as it the only way any faith can be bought to this perfect mess ...

Only good thing is Thailand will loose Billions of baht from all the corruption & stupidity that been brought to peoples attention through media, tourists are dwindling, business investors are more cautious & many moving.

Firm I work with are closing shop this year & moving offices to Singapore, quite simply don't want the inconsistent hassle of Thainess any longer. Constant protest/coups that are a farce for the elite factions, mixed with awful policing, messy immigration & incompetent banking have made the decision easy. A quote from my CEO "only 2 things we will miss is 7/11 & our dental clinic" .

If tourism died Thailand would stand to lose a couple of trillion bath a year ... that's sweet FA compared to it's expat community and foreign business community. I actually left Thailand shortly after this farce took hold as I could no longer support a regime that engages in such human rights atrocities.

I've said this before ... it's time the expat community walked out en-mass and showed the Thais that enough is enough. Such would either force the Thai authorities to change - and I mean change right across the board including law and order and their stupid immigration laws. Either that or they can stick to their Thainess and watch their country decline into the abyss of financial collapse.

I for one will refuse to enter Thailand again until measurable changes are made.

The Thais, contrary to belief, do NOT hold the power - the people do ... time for the expat community to show some balls and walk ... maybe change could be effected to benefit everyone .. including the Thai people.

Another suggestion from a rocket scientist. Yes, lets all leave our favorite country in the world, in order to make a point. My nickname is Mother Theresa, so I will do anything to make a point. I would leave my friends, my family, my life, to make this point. Brilliant. If you have any real, practical, or otherwise useful suggestions, we would appreciate them. Boycott Tao, yes. That is what I am doing. Leave the country. No thanks. I love it here, and will do everything in my power to avoid having to live in the US, ever again.

Edited December 6, 2014 by spidermike007

[JLCrab]

There's always Burkina Faso.

[sambum]

Witnesses are most probably illegal migrant workers themselves, trapped in a very small island controlled by mafias.

Witnesses? Witnesses to what? EYEwitnesses? Why has the blogosphere which has no compunction about speculation not speculated as to what evidence witnesses Thai, Burmese, or farang might have of an exculpatory nature that they are afraid to bring forward? Why have none of these witnesses sent anonymous emails to Andy Hall that without revealing their identities but give a least some indication of what evidence they might possess?

If they are "illegal migrant workers themselves" they are not Thai or farang. Do you honestly think that they are here to make enough money to purchase a laptop or computer? And don't even think of mentioning using an Internet cafe! On Koh Tao?

Do they have a telephone? Call him with a SIM card for 50 baht and then put the SIM card in the trash. His phone # is on his website. Call him from a 50 satang pay phone. You're saying maybe this whole thing can go down because someone with crucial evidence has no way to get it to anybody in a position to run with it? Do illegals on KT ever leave the island for a day on Samui?

50 baht is probably enough money to feed their family for a day! They're probably scared to "make waves" because they're probably all been told to stay shtum or else. In answer to your last question - probably not, because they probably can't afford the ferry ride, and probably can't afford the time off. (Lots of "probably" statements because I don't know these things, I only surmise them) I have heard/read various reports of locals and migrants being intimidated and being scared to talk - this post being only one of them.

[Ajahnski]

"We have many disadvantages... we still have not seen the prosecutors' evidence, we just have to fight as best as we can," he added.

Just about sums it all up, doesn't it?

In a fair system the defence is supplied with a copy of all evidence at least 30 days prior. Anything alleged that the defence has not been made aware of can be dismissed. This allows for a level playing field and doesn't stack the case in favour of one side.

In the Thai system the accused is expected to enter a plea without his defence lawyers being allowed to see the prosecutor's evidence, usually amidst heavy threats from the prosecutor about how much heavier the penalty will be if they refuse to plead guilty. However, financial arrangements can sometimes be made to make the evidence available, particularly in the case of influential defendants. The principles of the plea stage are no different from those of the police 'safe' house and countless innocent people are intimidated into pleading guilty to crimes they didn't commit.

The Post ran a series on Thailand's medieval justice system explaining all this a few years ago.

Anyone have a link to that series? It would be an interesting read.

Edited December 6, 2014 by Ajahnski

[Ajahnski]

only chance they have if innocent is serious action from UK police/government if they have any consummate evidence to blow it wide open beyond doubt & beyond cover-ups & lies !!

I would like a report from UK regardless of what it supports as it the only way any faith can be bought to this perfect mess ...

Only good thing is Thailand will loose Billions of baht from all the corruption & stupidity that been brought to peoples attention through media, tourists are dwindling, business investors are more cautious & many moving.

Firm I work with are closing shop this year & moving offices to Singapore, quite simply don't want the inconsistent hassle of Thainess any longer. Constant protest/coups that are a farce for the elite factions, mixed with awful policing, messy immigration & incompetent banking have made the decision easy. A quote from my CEO "only 2 things we will miss is 7/11 & our dental clinic" .

If tourism died Thailand would stand to lose a couple of trillion bath a year ... that's sweet FA compared to it's expat community and foreign business community. I actually left Thailand shortly after this farce took hold as I could no longer support a regime that engages in such human rights atrocities.

I've said this before ... it's time the expat community walked out en-mass and showed the Thais that enough is enough. Such would either force the Thai authorities to change - and I mean change right across the board including law and order and their stupid immigration laws. Either that or they can stick to their Thainess and watch their country decline into the abyss of financial collapse.

I for one will refuse to enter Thailand again until measurable changes are made.

The Thais, contrary to belief, do NOT hold the power - the people do ... time for the expat community to show some balls and walk ... maybe change could be effected to benefit everyone .. including the Thai people.

This comment and the one about the Myanmar community needing to rise up miss an important point. Neither group is organized at all, and are relatively powerless.

I see this in the school I work in. Several of us have individually told the directors about the problems we have. They acknowledge and ignore the problem while simultaneously adding an increased workload which does nothing to further any educational goal or deal with any problem. When I have brought up acting as a unified group, everyone else immediately chickens out. To make the problem worse, each of us has individual goals. One just wants to make it a couple more years until he can retire. A couple of them just want enough experience on their resumes to qualify them to go to other countries and teach. I need this crappy job for a visa and to take care of my wife and our daughter who will be born in a month.

Also, we know how the corrupt operate. Even if we confront them as a group, they could just fire one person at a time, randomly, until they replace everyone. What is our recourse? The courts? Even the guys who have only been in country for 2 months have been warned about what a joke that is.

That being said, as soon as I can get my wife and kid(s) through immigration, we're outta here!!

[JLCrab]

To post #184 above: ... and, again, another reason that nobody has talked is that they have nothing of any credence about these crimes with which to talk.

[boomerangutang]

To post #184 above: ... and, again, another reason that nobody has talked is that they have nothing of any credence about these crimes with which to talk.

How do you know so much about what others have seen/heard that night? Sean would likely qualify as a witness, but for obvious reasons, Thai officials and the headman's people want him permanently hushed up, or at least thousands of miles away and unquestioned. Out of sight / out of mind.

[peecee]

And where is the Scotland Yard report on this investigation ?

It has been very quiet in its findings ??

I doubt the UK police will want to prejudice the trial, so we'll have to wait until a verdict before they respond.

[boomerangutang]

And where is the Scotland Yard report on this investigation ?

It has been very quiet in its findings ??

I doubt the UK police will want to prejudice the trial, so we'll have to wait until a verdict before they respond.

One slight problem with that: the B2 could be sentenced to death in the meantime. Unless, a person doesn't give a hoot for an innocent person being killed by the State. These are people making decisions (to postpone findings, etc) not robots. And these are people being railroaded toward guilty verdicts. Granted, the B2 are at the lowest rungs of the social ladder, so perhaps they're expendable. Wouldn't want anyone from a rich and politically powerful family to be locked-up, would we?

[007cableguy]

Where has the main thread gone?

[fritzzz25]

Where has the main thread gone?

Closed due to the repetitive

[changnaam]

Seems they have taken to threatening Sky News reporters as well.

3rd world tactics

[lildragon]

Why have old threads had to be bumped? Why haven't the admins made new threads on this ongoing case? Are the mafia threatening them too?

[changnaam]

Good point, looks like the British media are getting some hassle. Truth must come out or am I dreaming.

[petedk]

Seems they have taken to threatening Sky News reporters as well.

3rd world tactics

Can you elaborate?

BBC News today reported that a police officer said that there couldn't be a new DNA test as there was no DNA material left to be tested.

[changnaam]

According to a news report which was from a sky news reporter, his translator has been warned off working for them, trying to find link but it was in a thai visa thread today.

I thought bbc news was reporting DNA evidence "lost"?

[changnaam]

https://www.facebook.com/heidi.a.zimmerman/videos/1000772946621286/

This is the link I found, hope it works

[rockingrobin]

According to a news report which was from a sky news reporter, his translator has been warned off working for them, trying to find link but it was in a thai visa thread today.

I thought bbc news was reporting DNA evidence "lost"?

Meanwhile a Thai translator being used by Sky News in court has said she's been "warned off" helping journalists by the Thai "Mafia".

http://news.sky.com/story/1515906/backpacker-murder-dna-setback-for-defence