Myanmar men plead not guilty to murder of British tourists on Koh Tao

[webfact]

Myanmar men plead not guilty to murder of British tourists

(Reuters) - Two Myanmar workers have pleaded not guilty to charges including murder over the killing of two British tourists in Thailand, their lawyer said on Monday, in a case that has hit tourism and attracted widespread criticism.

The bodies of David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, were found on a beach on the southern Thai island of Koh Tao on Sept. 15. Police arrested Myanmar workers Zaw Lin and Win Phyo, both 21, in October, saying DNA taken from the pair matched samples found on the victims.

On Thursday, Thai prosecutors filed charges against the Myanmar men ranging from conspiracy to commit murder and rape to illegal entry. They were taken to court on the island of Samui on Monday to hear the charges.

"They pleaded not guilty to all the charges today," Thanu Akekachote, a lawyer representing the pair, told Reuters. "It is my understanding that the court wants to speed this up given its impact on tourism and international relations."

Full story: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/12/08/uk-thailand-britain-murder-idUKKBN0JM0HR20141208


-- Reuters 2014-12-08

[robertthebruce]

This two must be going through hell for sure...

I do hope they are innocent, and get released..

But i wont hold my breath......

T.I.T.

[webfact]

Myanmar men plead not guilty to murder of British tourists
Reuters

KOH SAMUI: -- Two Myanmar workers have pleaded not guilty to charges including murder over the killing of two British tourists in Thailand, their lawyer said on Monday, in a case that has hit tourism and attracted widespread criticism.

The bodies of David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23,were found on a beach on the southern Thai island of Koh Tao on September 15. Police arrested Myanmar workers Zaw Lin and Win Phyo, both 21, in October, saying DNA taken from the pair matched samples found on the victims.

On Thursday, Thai prosecutors filed charges against the Myanmar men ranging from conspiracy to commit murder and rape to illegal entry. They were taken to court on the island of Samui on Monday to hear the charges.

"They pleaded not guilty to all the charges today," Thanu Akekachote, a lawyer representing the pair, told Reuters. "It is my understanding that the court wants to speed this up given its impact on tourism and international relations."

Tourism generates almost 10 percent of gross domestic product and Thailand was already struggling to recover from months of political upheaval that culminated in a May 22 coup, with the unrest keeping some visitors away.

Thailand is still under martial law, which was imposed two days before the coup.

Zaw Lin and Win Phyo initially confessed to the murders but later retracted their confessions, saying they had been made under duress.

The investigation into the murders has been marred by allegations of police incompetence and torture. The suspects said they were beaten and threatened by police, allegations which police deny.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Myanmar-men-plead-not-guilty-to-murder-of-British--30249350.html


-- The Nation 2014-12-08

[z42]

Good on them, this puts the onus firmly on the prosecution to show all their evidence and to support it (in theory of course)

With all the uncertainty surrounding the case it is good to see that the Burmese chaps will get to put across their side of the story and that their team of lawyers can put some skillful defence / scrutiny on it.

Also with the Burmese embassy / government behind their citizens they have some extra clout. I hope ths pushes the case towards a fair and just conclusion. Face hasn't won yet.. A huge plus

[Dogmatix]

Sensible to plead not guilty as there might still be a chance that the prosecution case unravels, if not here, in the appeal or supreme courts, if they can survive that long. If they pleaded guilty, there would be no guarantee of avoiding the death penalty, as in the case of the SRT worker who confessed to raping and murdering the little girl on the train but was sentenced to death anyway.

If there are sentenced to death and it is confirmed by the Supreme Court, it is unlikely it would be carried out, given all the investment projects Thailand is hoping to do in Burma. However, death row prisoners are kept in even more ihumane conditions than the rest, in chains 24 hours a day.

I am skeptical about the investigation, the police forensics and the peosecutor's teport but hope for a fair trial,whether they it or not. If they did it, which I doubt, it would seem very unlikely that they did it alone.

Edited December 8, 2014 by Dogmatix

[NextStationBangkok]

Thailand knows Burma cannot fight back diplomatically, that's why they are pushing case rapidly. Only solution is all Burmese labors should leave Thailand immediately for 3 months, so that all resorts and hotels should close down during the high season.

[Krenjai]

http://time.com/3617617/thailand-koh-tao-murder-david-miller-hannah-witheridge-indictment/

Scotland Yard spent only two hours on Koh Tao and did not meet with either the accused or their legal team.....Wow!! Great job Sherlock, then again what else could you have done? You were only there to observe the powerful and convincing evidence of the RTP. No wonder the family statement says the evidence APPEARS to be powerful and convincing.

I say it one more time, I will never believe in a million years the B2 are guilty unless I have seen independently (non-thai) verified DNA (if that is/was still possible). Nothing can change my mind, and definitively not a million posts from JD praising the RTP.

This case stinks too high heaven! So Sherlock, to end all this show the world your DNA findings! Just say you did independently verify the DNA from the repatriated bodies against fresh B2 samples and you will publish the result in due time. The fact that you didn't even meet them says it all.........you did not check the DNA, you accepted the RTP results. The B2 deserve better and so do their families!

.

Edited December 8, 2014 by Krenjai

[lewy67]

KOH SAMUI: -- Two Myanmar workers……

I know that people from Burma are Burmese and that Burma is now Myanmar. But I don’t like the phrase Two Myanmar workers that continually appears in the press. So what can they be? Does Myanmarese work? Or Myanmarian? Myanmarish?

Anything else work?

Two Myanmar workers – don’t like it – am over it.

[asiamaster]

Thailand knows Burma cannot fight back diplomatically, that's why they are pushing case rapidly. Only solution is all Burmese labors should leave Thailand immediately for 3 months, so that all resorts and hotels should close down during the high season.

Actually if Burma was that way inclined they could cause serious economic mayhem in Thailand by f#kcing with Thailand's gas supply, so Burma can fight Thailand if so inclined, not that this will happen

The Burmese government does not give a #$%& about their Rohingya population nor any of the other minorities such as Karen/ Shan -which is why it is mostly these people that are the migrant workers in Thailand.

Of course if the Burmese authorities would not have officially expressed any concern they would have been given even more flack by the West than Thailand is currently receiving....

[webfact]

Men accused of Koh Tao murders plead not guilty

KOH SAMUI: -- Koh Tao murder defendants Zaw Lin/Wai Phyo (Win) have plead not guilty to all charges against them including conspiracy to commit murder, rape and illegal entry to Thailand. A report in Reuters states “Thanu Akekachote, a lawyer representing the pair, told Reuters. “It is my understanding that the court wants to speed this up given its impact on tourism and international relations.”

It has also been reported that the court are now awaiting documents from the UK government to see if the parents of the victims will jointly enter the prosecution or not. The Samui court also made a preliminary appointment for considering evidence Koh Tao case documents on 25th February 2015.


-- Samui Times 2014-12-08

[ChrisY1]

Good on them, this puts the onus firmly on the prosecution to show all their evidence and to support it (in theory of course)

With all the uncertainty surrounding the case it is good to see that the Burmese chaps will get to put across their side of the story and that their team of lawyers can put some skillful defence / scrutiny on it.

Also with the Burmese embassy / government behind their citizens they have some extra clout. I hope ths pushes the case towards a fair and just conclusion. Face hasn't won yet.. A huge plus

I'm not so sure....their not guilty plea may make it easier for prosecution to convince the judges to hand them the death penalty.......

Edited December 8, 2014 by ChrisY1

[sweatalot]

Thailand knows Burma cannot fight back diplomatically, that's why they are pushing case rapidly. Only solution is all Burmese labors should leave Thailand immediately for 3 months, so that all resorts and hotels should close down during the high season.

Very good idea. If they only did this

[Delcavom]

Of course they plead not guilty.

[Kees5555]

Follow the money: can the defense check the police officers who handled the case if they might suddenly have bought some luxury goods?

'Follow' the murder weapon: who was the owner, where did it come from?

Check the sperm: is this DNA-sample coming from sperm? If so, it can easily be prove in a Western lab if of if not it comes from the B2

[Commerce]

Of course they plead not guilty.

Do you plead not guilty to having a crap every day? Of course you do!

[webfact]

Myanmar migrant workers deny murdering Brits at Thai resort
Bangkok, Thailand | AFP |

KOH SAMUI: -- Two Myanmar migrant workers on Monday pleaded not guilty to murdering a pair of British holidaymakers at a Thai diving resort, their lawyer told AFP.

Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun are on trial for the murder of 24-year-old David Miller and the rape and murder of Hannah Witheridge, 23, on the island of Koh Tao in September.

"They both denied all charges," the head of their legal team, Nakhon Chomphuchat, told AFP after the first hearing in their trial at a court on nearby Koh Samui.

The pair face several charges including murder, rape and robbery, he added.

Last week Nakhon said defence witnesses had refused to come forward because they were too scared to speak up on behalf of low-status migrant workers in a case which has garnered global attention.

The defendants, both aged 21, confessed to the crimes after their arrest in October but later retracted the admission of guilt, alleging it had been extracted under duress.

Rights groups have accused Thai authorities of using the men as scapegoats.

In November British detectives travelled to Thailand to review the police investigation into the murders after widespread criticism of blunders including allowing reporters to trample over the crime scene.

On Saturday the victims' families said they had seen strong evidence against the suspects and expressed confidence in the case.

"There is a great deal of detail and vast areas of investigative work which has been shared with us," Witheridge's family said in a statement released through Britain's Foreign Office.

"We would like to stress that as a family we are confident in the work that has been carried out into these atrocious crimes."

Miller's family meanwhile urged restraint from rights groups and the media while the court case unfolds.

"The support for the Myanmar suspects has been strong and vocal, but please do not jump to conclusions until you have considered the evidence from both sides in full," Miller's family said in its statement.

The brutal murders further damaged Thailand's image as a tourist haven after months of political protests led to an army coup in May and the imposition of martial law.


-- (c) Copyright AFP 2014-12-08

[terryp]

guess the plead guilty and receive reduced time has not worked this time

[Commerce]

KOH SAMUI: -- Two Myanmar workers……

I know that people from Burma are Burmese and that Burma is now Myanmar. But I don’t like the phrase Two Myanmar workers that continually appears in the press. So what can they be? Does Myanmarese work? Or Myanmarian? Myanmarish?

Anything else work?

Two Myanmar workers – don’t like it – am over it.

What?

Two Brits; two British men; Two Americans; two Yanks, Two frogs; Two French men; and so forth.

What is wrong with two Myanmar workers? You prefer Myanmese workers, or Burmese workers?

Myanmarian? Myanmarish? Jeez, you must go through some kebabs, or smoke them.

[webfact]

Myanmar men accused of killing British tourists deny charges
By Digital Content

SURAT THANI, Dec 8 -- Both suspects in the case of the murdered British tourists on Ko Tao deny charges in court here today.

Judge Sunawin Suriyaphan, deputy chief of the Ko Samui Court in Surat Thani province, read the charges against the two Myanmar men accused of killing two British tourists on Surat Thani's Ko Tao island Sept 15.

Public prosecutors from Ko Samui pressed charges against Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin, both 21.

Wai Phyo was also charged with stealing a cell phone and sunglasses from one of the dead.

After hearing the charges, the defendants consulted with their lawyer and then denied all charges.

The judge set Feb 25, 2015 for examination of evidence and witnesses.

Tun Aye, Myanmar charge d’affaires to Thailand, said the Myanmar embassy sought the temporary release of both men and promised to keep them in Thailand. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2014-12-08

[RustBucket]

They are risking the death penalty for protesting their innocence.

If they were involved and knew they did it, and that a confession would probably almost certainly have got them a life sentence and possibly even freedom in say 15 to 20 years when they were still relatively young... I am almost sure they would have confessed.

It takes a lot of bravery to stand up for your rights to the point it could end with your execution.

If they are indeed sentenced to death.... Then this incident on Kho Tao will clock up 4 murders at the hands of Thais, with all the killers enjoying the rest of their life in freedom.

[cup-O-coffee]

It's really too bad that foreigners being held on crimes they allegedly committed in Thailand cannot be held in a facility for foreigners only, and away from the native population. Furthermore, it would be a requirement that the prison personnel would also be foreigners looking over them with Thai supervision, in order to ensure their incarceration time is represented according to the International human rights code. It is really too bad, because it is not a stretch of the imagination to understand that as long as foreigners are going to be anywhere near the Thai prison population that their lives are forfeit, and for a very small price, and at any whim. I believe this with absolute conviction.

Were this true, that these men could be held in a foreigner's only prison block, then I would be interested to see if they would be more apt to name names and things that were said to them, which... to all intents and purposes, I am absolutely convinced if they utter this information they are as good as dead.

I could only surmise this as the only answer to my question, "If these boys know something (and I am certain they do) then why on Earth aren't they telling us what they know?".

Answer: If they speak out of turn, they are as good as dead, and their untimely demise will be buried under the same load of malarkey that the two murdered kids were.

Thailand has tourist police... so why can't they demonstrate their sense of fairness and have tourist prisons and tourist guards?

Answer: Don;t need to answer. It is all too clear.

[RustBucket]

It has also been reported that the court are now awaiting documents from the UK government to see if the parents of the victims will jointly enter the prosecution or not. The Samui court also made a preliminary appointment for considering evidence Koh Tao case documents on 25th February 2015.

Now this should be very interesting.

This will show if the families of the victims are indeed convinced that these two were the actual perps.

If I know the British, they will NOT add their names to this prosecution if there is a shred of doubt.... They wont want to have ANY involvement in a possibly corrupt case that will end up in the deaths of a further two more people in the names of their dead family members, thus allowing their real killers to walk free to enjoy the rest of their lives.

If they refuse to join the prosecution, this will scream volumes to the whole case.

Edited December 8, 2014 by RustBucket

[Jim walker]

Another good beating with rubber hoses might get them to change their plea to guilty then it would save all this confusion as to who really committed the murder.

[surfinglife]

How can they possibly plead not guilty to the charge of illegal entry? They are ILLEGAL migrant workers, aren't they? Is their lawyer on yaba too?

[Digitalnomade]

I can see Thailand is in deep dodo regardless of the result.

guilty=shame on Thailand, shame on the police and their justice.

not guilty= everybody laugh at Thailand.

Edited December 8, 2014 by Digitalnomade

[Chris Lawrence]

"They pleaded not guilty to all the charges today," Thanu Akekachote, a lawyer representing the pair, told Reuters. "It is my understanding that the court wants to speed this up given its impact on tourism and international relations."

They want to speed things up? Whats happened to the Ferrari kid?

Any way it was good to see a post on the need to improve the police/judicial system for Thailand.

[webfact]

Koh Tao murder defendants plead not guilty



KOH SAMUI: -- Two Myanmar migrant workers held in custody in connection with the murder of two British backpackers on Koh Tao island in mid-September pleaded not guilty to all the charges filed against them at Koh Samui provincial court on Monday.

The two defendants, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, are facing six charges which include illegal entry; illegally staying in the country; murder of the male tourist, David Miller; gang rape of the victim, Ms Hannah Witheridge; murder of the rape victim to cover up the crime. Wai Phyo faces another charge of theft for stealing the male victim’s smart phone and spectacles.

The first hearing of the case was set on February 25.

The two defendants’ lawyer, Mr Nakorn Chomphuchart, admitted that he felt heavy-hearted for the case but expressed hope that the justice system would be fair to the defendants.

Meanwhile, the charge d’affairs of the Myan mar embassy said that the embassy would try to get a bail for the two defendants.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/koh-tao-murder-defendants-plead-not-guilty


-- Thai PBS 2014-12-08

[BangkokHank]

I can see Thailand is in deep dodo regardless of the result.

guilty=shame on Thailand, shame on the police and their justice.

not guilty= everybody laugh at Thailand.

And given those two choices, which one do you think Thailand will choose?

[sgtsabai]

"If they are indeed sentenced to death.... Then this incident on Kho Tao will clock up 4 murders at the hands of Thais, with all the killers enjoying the rest of their life in freedom." Check with some of the people that live there, if they'll talk to you about this, this isn't the first time nor will it be the last time "they" have gotten away with murder.

[anon022]

That move is equivalent to signing their death warrants. The evidence against them is overwhelming. Their lawyers play with their lives.

Edited December 8, 2014 by Impossible