Koh Tao: Trial opens for 2 accused of killing British tourists

[z42]

Mr Nakhon if you expect justice to be done i would expect all parties to be able to scrutinise evidence and ask serious questions of the investigative process.

I feel dreadfully sorry for the boys on trial. I just can't see how they did it when all viable evidence points elsewhere. They've suffered enough so hope they are acquitted sooner rather than later

Explain how all viable evidence points elsewhere?

We have suspects and we will be presented with evidence in court. If they are not good enough the "boys" will be set free,

OK well there is the dna which didn't match then conveniently did, no witness reports or cctv of the boys in the area around the time of the murder, no motive, a confession made in a safe house, the 2 guys chasing mcanna about the murders and threatening to hang him as the culprit, a planted phone as evidence, contradictory police reports and other instances involving people with motives and without alibi's who are much more likely to be involved than these poor lads.

Now give it a rest with the nonsense questions, the evidence is shonky at best and the prosecution know it.

[amerasianex]

There will be none of this evidence stuff going around. This is Thailand the JUDGE will decide. They have no lawyers either this is THAILAND. The JUDGE decides. And what about torture they fell down....The Thai judicial system requires you to prove your innocence. The state has no burden of proof. I seriously doubt any one will dig up any evidence for two poor Burmese boys. And they certainly can not do it themselves.... But I can tell you that Burmese are not thais or anything most of us are used to. Most of the ones I have met have been very nasty and ill tempered. Thats just my experience though...

[GOLDBUGGY]

I have yet to hear anyone quoting the British police as saying that they had access to. Or tested any DNA.

Why not? They had both bodies in the UK for the funeral. Who is stopping them in the UK for doing their own tests?

But I don't see how they could get DNA Samples from the 2 accused.

[Alwyn]

I guess either way the truth will come out. If the court allow the defence independent testing of the DNA the truth will be for all to see. If the court does not allow it, then the truth is also there for all to see.

Providing of course that the re-tested samples are genuine. Should it happen it would be nice to know what samples were tested, how they were acquired, what is the possibility of tampering etc. I'll be a bit stunned if there are rock solid tamper free samples still and the court allows independent testing of these.

Agreed. The semen found in the girl's body would be the only way to do this legitmately

[Pimay1]

If the judge rules in favor of another DNA test it would be quite easy for the police to switch the samples and give the lab the real DNA of the two accused instead of the samples taken from the victims. I wouldn't put anything passed the police and the prosecutors. After all, saving face is paramount.

Edited July 8, 2015 by Pimay1

[Jimlove]

It is not the just the two Burmese on trial here but The whole Thai judicial system and the RTP...

Agree and RTP will no doubt be found morally guilty by any foreign viewers and sane persons in the Land of Scapegoats - I wonder who is gonna be the next victim(s) on Death Island ...

[Mooner]

Maybe this case would of been simpler to solve if certain owners of camera released their CCTV recordings. I mean this is two horrific murders on the beach where you have businesses. Surely they dont want to tarnish their own business and countries tourism reputation!

No instead they use their privacy as an excuse. Excuse me, even the smallest details of this case stink! Why would you not help the local police and help your island any way you can???

[StealthEnergiser]

DNA queried as Myanmar men go on trial for murder of UK tourists

Two Myanmar men accused of murdering two British holidaymakers in Thailand went on trial on Wednesday in a case that caused outrage in Britain and raised questions about the competence of the Thai police and the treatment of migrant labourers.

British tourists David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, were murdered last year on Koh Tao, or Turtle Island, a popular tourist destination in southern Thailand.

Thai police said in October that Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, two 22-year-old migrant workers from Myanmar, had initially confessed to the killings. The confessions followed weeks of speculation and pressure on police to solve the murders.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/07/08/uk-thailand-britain-murder-idUKKCN0PI03H20150708

[sgtsabai]

It was to be expected that the 2 Koh Tao mob apologists and defenders would show up quickly on this thread. Even if these young men were black this case wouldn't have gone to court in the US. If I had ever bungled a crime scene like that I would have been justly fired as would any with me. Just1Voice, as one USMC to another, thanks for setting that ahem person straight.

[GOLDBUGGY]

Even the parents have arrived stating they are waiting for questions related to the deaths to be answered, and they hope that the guilty people involved can be determined.

It is funny how 2 people can read the same News Media and yet come out with 2 totally different understandings of it.

The question the Parents want answered is how anyone can do such an atrocious crime and end the lives of 2 Beautiful People, as in David and Hannah, and that they hope that justice will be served. Which is punished, if found guilty, or let go if they are innocent.

[thailandchilli]

Meanwhile the prosecution have placed all their evidence in a shopping trolley

At the front of the room, a shopping trolley stuffed full of evidence sits waiting. Most of the contents are wrapped but the shape of a guitar can be clearly made out.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-33438693

Edited July 8, 2015 by thailandchilli

[mmh8]

lets make this clear for those picking holes, the English will not kick up a diplomatic fuss, these are not British citizens facing the death sentence. However The British mentality is to see justice is done and done fairly. no stink will be kicked up if the dna evidence is not accepted.

It will be a case of ok this is out of our jurasdiction we shall at the most put a warning up on our website to warn people of the possible dangers they face in Thailand.

wrt accepting dna evidence the internal specimen is not the way to test any more. the crime scene was contaminated by poor policing skills by the face savers. a taxi driver put in charge of the crime scene cos the police officers wanted a drink may have violated the corpse, hey TIT it should be expected. Thus this case has nothing to do with Britain wrt crime scene investigation, defence or anything.

this is a tragedy pure and simple god willing the international media interest can do some good , since that is the point of reporting after all, to see that truth is reported with no subjective content either way. the greater travesty and insult will be if two innocents die just to save face of some official or incompetant law officers who gave knee jerk reaction to another rape/murder/death on their beaches. cue evil man of Krabi song - different beach same same justice

[phuketandsee]

It is not the just the two Burmese on trial here but The whole Thai judicial system and the RTP...

And not just the Thai "judicial" system and the RTP on trial here. The whole fabric of Thai society has been revealed for all to see by this case.

[kannot]

Statement: Defence Lawyers Team, Koh Tao Case

KOH SAMUI:-- A team of defence lawyers assumed responsibility for this case in the name of the Lawyers Council of Thailand as this appeared to be a situation where the accused had been tortured to confess to the crimes they are accused of.

The accused in this case are migrant workers but all their basic human rights for access to justice as the accused and defendants in a criminal case should be respected.

The Lawyers Council of Thailand expects justice to be achieved for all parties to this case and is working to ensure the truth is revealed. The Lawyers Council of Thailand is confident that the mechanisms of the justice system including prosecution officials, defence lawyers and the court itself will be able to ensure that the United Kingdom, Myanmar and other countries across the world consider and accept the Thai justice system as adhering to standards of international justice.

The Lawyers Council of Thailand hopes that both domestic and international media will cooperate in reporting the truth in this case in a correct manner, in a way that respects the deceased and their families and in such a way as to ensure justice for all parties to the case in accordance with everyone’s expectations. I would like to thank the media in advance for your cooperation.

Mr. Nakhon Chomphuchat

Koh Samui

8th July 2015

OK so wheres the jury?

[kannot]

It is not the just the two Burmese on trial here but The whole Thai judicial system and the RTP...

yeah but you know , they really dont care one bit.

[Thaidream]

Thailand does not have a jury system. I believe in a case involving capital murder- 3 judges are involved. I am hoping the British evidence is allowed into the court so as to provide to the judge(s) a complete and accurate picture . I am unsure of the rules of evidence in Thailand but I believe each side has to give the other side its evidence. I am hoping for the best- but there are doubts in my mind.

[GOLDBUGGY]

Personally I don't buy this "we were tortured into confessing" c&%#p. They would have to do a lot more to me than just a few slaps to get a confession which would certainly mean the gallows or life in jail. Flaying or removing body parts comes to mind. The Burmese boys looked pretty healthy to me after the alleged "torture".

Do you know the alleged method of torture and did you examine their bodies? Or did you make your detailed analysis from news reports?

I think it is obvious that he didn't. But one of the first witnesses called by the Prosecution is the Doctor, who met with them in Prison after the Confessions, and obviously could have examined them. I expect he did or otherwise why be their? Especially if they complained to him of such abuse. Which it seems they did not, as this would have been mentioned already.

But after saying this, there are such things as "Psychological Torture", which can be even more powerful than "Physical Torture". We will just have to see how this all unfolds at the trail as I am sure the Defense will bring this up..

[Jimlove]

It is not the just the two Burmese on trial here but The whole Thai judicial system and the RTP...

And not just the Thai "judicial" system and the RTP on trial here. The whole fabric of Thai society has been revealed for all to see by this case.

Its gonna be an eye-opener for many and an ugly sight for even more. It starts with the people right ....

[Thaidream]

I am also quite curious as to what would be the motive of these 2 young men to attack a foreign man and woman, then rape and commit murder.. In the West, a legal team would hire their own detective/investigator to look into the background of the accused, any police records and trace their movements for the whole week . Also, every possible witness or anyone remotely connected with this case would have been interviewed separately from the police and detailed profiles established. It would surprise me if any of this was done.

[ABCer]

I guess either way the truth will come out. If the court allow the defence independent testing of the DNA the truth will be for all to see. If the court does not allow it, then the truth is also there for all to see.

Providing of course that the re-tested samples are genuine. Should it happen it would be nice to know what samples were tested, how they were acquired, what is the possibility of tampering etc. I'll be a bit stunned if there are rock solid tamper free samples still and the court allows independent testing of these.

Agreed. The semen found in the girl's body would be the only way to do this legitmately

I suppose there is no way of planting this kind of evidence, or is there?

[sweatalot]

It is not the just the two Burmese on trial here but The whole Thai judicial system and the RTP...

and behind them hopefully the real perp/s

Edited July 8, 2015 by sweatalot

[sambum]

"I think we did a pretty good job of sealing the crime scene, although we have a limited number of officers on Koh Tao and so local volunteers helped, said Colonel Kissana Phathanacharoen, the deputy chief spokesman for the Royal Thai Police."

Unbelievable! And this comes from the mouth of the Deputy Chief Spokesman for the Royal Thai Police!

How many police officers does it take to put a ribbon round a crime scene? And does "local volunteers" include one former suspect who was allowed to step over the ribbon and trample around the area along with journalists, other "interested" parties and explicit photographs being taken that were posted on the Internet?

Maybe " a pretty good job" for the 2 or 3 RTP apologists on here but not for me!

Edited July 8, 2015 by sambum

[sweatalot]

Great to see that the people are starting to see what some what some posters are really like and ignoring them is the best medicine for them .

Yes, I could have responded, but what's the mileage in having a meaningless debate argument. Now the Brits are helping the defence, and if independent testing of DNA is permitted, I'm hopeful the prosecution's case will founder on the rocks of truthful disclosure.

..........and if it doesn't and it confirms that they were the killers/rapists!!

would be a surprise

[Thaidream]

Having sat on an American jury- Evidence samples/DNA are logged and a chain of custody established by date, time and person. If that chain is broken- that leads the jury to wonder why and what happened. The chain of custody is an important part of any evidence. Now whether the RTP use this method is unknown to me but if they don't all evidence becomes suspect as no one knows who handled it and why. I wish we could see the actual trial transcripts.

[GOLDBUGGY]

I wonder why the UK did not make the reports from the UK coppers that went over. The UK government keeping Thai authorities happy by saying nothing. The court case should be held a long way away.

Will be a white wash I am thinking.

I would guess that this was part of the agreement for the UK Investigative Team to be allowed in Thailand to observe. You wouldn't want the shoe on the other foot and have a Thai Investigative Team be allowed into the UK to observe and ongoing case, then come home and spill the beans to the Media, would you?

In Canada, the Police will only mention the accused name, and what he is charged with, and what crime he is accused of committing. They never discuss evidence they have or details although they may say they feel they have a strong case against him. I think this is standard protocol. But in this case it seems they were allowed by there Superiors, to discuss this case with the Victims Families.

[Thaidream]

Sambum makes a very good point. If the crime scene is not immediately sealed and people come in an trample on the evidence, everything becomes suspect. The chain of custody is broken from the beginning and a decent lawyer will use all of this to point out inconsistencies in the Prosecutor's case.

[jdinasia]

Having sat on an American jury- Evidence samples/DNA are logged and a chain of custody established by date, time and person. If that chain is broken- that leads the jury to wonder why and what happened. The chain of custody is an important part of any evidence. Now whether the RTP use this method is unknown to me but if they don't all evidence becomes suspect as no one knows who handled it and why. I wish we could see the actual trial transcripts.

There's no jury system in Thailand.

There's chain of custody.

[sambum]

I wonder why the UK did not make the reports from the UK coppers that went over. The UK government keeping Thai authorities happy by saying nothing. The court case should be held a long way away.

Will be a white wash I am thinking.

I would guess that this was part of the agreement for the UK Investigative Team to be allowed in Thailand to observe. You wouldn't want the shoe on the other foot and have a Thai Investigative Team be allowed into the UK to observe and ongoing case, then come home and spill the beans to the Media, would you?

In Canada, the Police will only mention the accused name, and what he is charged with, and what crime he is accused of committing. They never discuss evidence they have or details although they may say they feel they have a strong case against him. I think this is standard protocol. But in this case it seems they were allowed by there Superiors, to discuss this case with the Victims Families.

And in Thailand, this is the type of statement that the Deputy Chief Spokesman for the Royal Thai Police makes:- "I think we did a pretty good job of sealing the crime scene, although we have a limited number of officers on Koh Tao and so local volunteers helped".

Edited July 8, 2015 by sambum

[a99az]

Ruling expected tomorrow on whether DNA evidence in British backpacker murders can be retested by an independent laboratory. #kohtao

And the answer is NO. Or it will be seen that Thai people can not do it's job properly. Next request also NO.

[Brasilouro]

People saying that the world is watching . So Thailand have to show some justice. I'm sorry but Face is much more important in Thailand than justice . I feel very sad for all involved apart from the b*stards who did this of course. I have a feeling this is going to be the opposite to the OJ Simpson trail where in this case there going to make the glove fit