French man found hanged in Koh Tao with his hands tied behind his back – foul play suspected

[arrowsdawdle]

It will be interesting to see how the police handle this....surely even they can't find evidence to implicate the 2 Burmese defendants????

They have to because no Thai would do such a thing.

[Monkeyrobot]

You could put the rope around your neck then bind one hand, then put them behind you back with a slip knot maybe? but would be very difficult, then jump of the chair or whatever platform he used. He also might have used cable ties?? How knows, RIP anyway. Probably easier then shooting your self twice in the head.

[arrowsdawdle]

Just don't go there and you won't get murdered - it's not rocket science

Just don't go there and you won't get suicided.

[DennisF]

If CSI LA are not a reputable source how come they publish stories hours before TV and are in the USA??

And have more information??

Strange.. politics??

[philr]

Let us hope that the French government will not be as supine as their UK counterparts and demand a full investigation is done, led by the military from Bangkok, and that the true perpetrators of this and other crimes are brought to book.

For now, my plans to relocate with my Thai wife to Thailand are on indefinite hold. We are safer here in the Middle East. She's from Pattani. A lovely town in what should be a wonderful country.

Thai authorities, get a grip before it is too late.

Edited January 3, 2015 by philr

[alocacoc]

I would like to see that the PM clean the island. But probably he is too busy.

[arrowsdawdle]

It almost looks like somebody is trying to economically destroy the island, puyai, or both.

[greenchair]

I would guess people who are murdered then staged to look like suicide happens more times here than we'd like to think. RIP.

Why would they leave the hand tied....dead giveaway....

Looks like it was tied very tightly .would have taken a bit to get that off.

[asdecas]

It is very odd to live in a bungalow whose door is named Dmitri.

RIP

[retarius]

There seem to be a disproportionate number of mysterious deaths, murders, suicides, falling from cliffs, drownings and so forth in KT. I wonder why that is?

[arrowsdawdle]

Foul play suspected....the only way they could be sure it was suicide is when the victim is shot in the back....by a bow and arrow.

[Tanlic]

STOP! with the Burmese jokes for God's sake.......any Idea how stupid you come across as being?

It may seem unlikely that his hands would be tied if it was a suicide but it really isn't that strange or uncommon

The idea is to tie their own hands and it only needs to be loosely because the rope used is behind their back

They stick there head through the noose jump and the rope, even if it's only dangling behind their back, prevents them from reaching the rope above.

Sad that someone would resort to this at such a young age

RIP

[greenchair]

If CSI LA are not a reputable source how come they publish stories hours before TV and are in the USA??

And have more information??

Strange.. politics??

If it wasn't for csi we probably wouldn't have heard about it. It's posted in Burma. So those witnesses are going to be a bit scared I would imagine.

[callaway]

Cannot wait until the spin doctors get involved and see what they can come up with. Should be interesting. RIP young man. I hope they find who did this to you. Grandfather died recently and a failed love affair? Spin is already there I guess

[arrowsdawdle]

It is very odd to live in a bungalow whose door is named Dmitri.

RIP

Hard to tell. Wait till they announce its last name.

[stephen terry]

French man found hanged in Koh Tao with his hands tied behind his back...

** TIP for Murderers **

After your victim is is dead from the staged hanging/suicide ... untie the hands.

There is also the possibility that the tied hands was deliberate - a message to any others not to F with the protected locals, or even not to give witness at the Burmese trial.

However, despite the horrible murder (yes, the accompanying cuts make it pretty obvious) it could help the Burmese defence case to point out that there are still killers roaming free who have not been arrested - possibly the same gang who have killed before.

Edited January 3, 2015 by stephen terry

[Dogmatix]

Sean McAnna must be experiencing a twitchy feeling around his neck now, seeing this very clear illustration of of what was being proposed for him in the convenience store.

[DennisF]

You could put the rope around your neck then bind one hand, then put them behind you back with a slip knot maybe? but would be very difficult, then jump of the chair or whatever platform he used. He also might have used cable ties?? How knows, RIP anyway. Probably easier then shooting your self twice in the head.

Get a life, look at the photos, its shoe laces by the look of it.

Thats a <deleted> hell of a scenario for someone about to kill themself. Jeez.

[sambum]

No conspiracy theories on this one please.

Rest in peace to the victim.

That JD chap will be along soon to tell us all the guy was named Houdini............

Yes, he's very quiet - I'm sure we all look forward to his comments! Maybe he's making enquiries of his RTP buddies before giving us the benefit of his inside information. (Sorry, moderators - I did say "maybe"

[gezginrocker]

Lol, it is amazing to see people calling Koh Tao "Island of death", or even suggesting nuking the place. I'm pretty sure most of those people are backpacker hating Pattaya resident sexpats, or probably spent a lot of time at Pattaya at some part of their lifes. Pattaya, which is famous for murders happening on a weekly basis. Pattaya, which has not only the local mafia, but also mafias from around the world, like Russian mafia, Arab mafia, Turkish mafia etc. And yet you never hear those backpacker hating sexpats bashing Pattaya.

The murders at Koh Tao was big news, because it is so rare. Murders at Pattaya aren't big news, because it happens so much that it doesn't have a news value. You want to nuke a place, fine, then go for Pattaya. An incredible amount of scum would be wiped out of earth and Thailand's murder rates would drop instantly.

[Incobart]

Is this enough for tourists to realize is time to stop visiting Thailand for fool moon parties or do they need some more?

It believe there is a protected killer on the loose and I don't think is a serial killer, I believe it's a person who has been given immunity and is now using it to show off his power and to bully whoever he feels like. He wants to flirt with your gf? You better let him or... some Burmese might get you.

I saw it happening before, actually there was this guy in Petchboon province who committed several crimes, mostly attacking people causing serious injuries, always got away by bribing police. When one day he lost it and killed someone, his family payed an unbelievable amount of money to someone else to confess and get jail time instead, which was kindly reduced to just 3 years.

The experience made him even more bully, everybody knew he could kill with impunity.

One morning he was found dead, apparently overdose.

This is a true story, happened in 2001.

first Nick Pearson, then Hannah Witheridge & David Miller, now this French man , and who know who more ..

some killer is still on play ..

[Manbing]

What exactly is is population of Myanmar cheap Labour immigrants working in Thailand?

At this rate their numbers are going to dwindle quickly, just as soon as they find 2 more scapegoates

[John1thru10]

Let the investigation take it's course. Thailand is not rife with serial killers or gangsters, most of them come here on the plane.

No offense, but I think it equally inexperienced to judge any particular country as having more of such things. I've lived all over, and every place is populated by individuals.

[Tatsujin]

You could put the rope around your neck then bind one hand, then put them behind you back with a slip knot maybe? but would be very difficult, then jump of the chair or whatever platform he used. He also might have used cable ties?? How knows, RIP anyway. Probably easier then shooting your self twice in the head.

If you look at the pics online already, there were no cable ties involved, and the bindings on the wrists alone should tell you they weren't done by himself (the knots used also tell a story in and of themselves if you want to compare them to other instances where people have been tied up here in Thailand). The pic showing the rope around the neck and how that is secured above should also tell you this was in no way, shape or form a suicide.

[MrJohnson]

To all the foreigners visiting or living here in Thailand just please be careful not to bump-heads w the locals.I grew up here and I've visited almost all places in TH(part of my job too).I can speak Thai and honestly I never had a prob w them but then again I'm Southeast Asian too.They just don't like foreigners who disrespect them in their own country no matter who they are or what they are.

Just please avoid getting in a fight w them.That's the first rule to keep in mind when coming here.

Should really be described as common sense. Not liking being disrespected by a foreigner in your own country is a character trait not exclusive to the Thais. However, it is how it is handled. It is more often than not about business, women, traffic etc. I was recently at a holiday resort in the far south of Thailand frequented by a lot of young backpackers. If they could understand Thai and the way the young local Thai men spoke about them they would be horrified. Especially the women. I was shocked and disgusted and found it hard to keep my mouth shut. But I did. For the very reason you state here. Self-preservation

[LuckyLew]

Unbelivable, every month a new tourist is killed on this small island

Not like they can kill the same one every month

[brewsterbudgen]

Unbelivable, every month a new tourist is killed on this small island

Yes, I find that unbelievable and just hysterical exaggeration.

[Lupatria]

...and every migrant worker leaving the island in justified fear of the BIB is now a prime suspect.

[siampolee]

One begins to wonder whether ''Exit international'' have opened up a branch on Koh Tao

Edited January 3, 2015 by siampolee

[Carrerakiss]

I am not surprised that the news about the tied hands took a while to come out. It clearly makes it more likely to be foul play and that doesn't sit well with the current official policy that Thailand is safe for visitors.

What does surprise me is that the BIB didn't just untie his hands when they found him. I'm not sure whether to give them credit for being honest, or deride them for being stupid in messing up a cover up.