Koh Tao: Suspects found guilty of murdering British backpackers

[asiamaster]

I wonder why they did it?

Many doubt they did. Read Jonathon Head's story above.

Jonathan Head??????

[pookiki]

I received a message from a migrant worker that I know and she wanted to know if I had seen the decision. The message was accompanied by an emoticon crying tears so I expected to see the guilty verdict. The worker told me that she wanted to go back to Myanmar and never return to Thailand. Never, never! While we can decry the verdict on this forum, we cannot feel the fear and frustration of the millions of migrant workers who make a massive contribution to the Thai economy. No good deed goes unpunished -- and a punishment of death will have repercussions in the migrant community for many years. I feel sorrow for those who feel more sorrow than me.

[paddyjoe41]

How can Thailand even think for one minute that the world does not know that those 2 people are completely innocent,I hope they never get another person to holiday on that forbidden Island,,its already riddled with corruption and cowards of the lowest form.The people who pull the strings on that Island should hang their heads in shame.

[phuketandsee]

If this verdict is allowed to pass by the UK embassy in Bangkok, their hands will be just as bloody as the real culprits in this crime.

What do you suggest they do?

At the very least they should issue a very strong and specific warning against visiting the Island of Death

[bruceybonus]

Just think, somewhere in Thailand, those murderers are laughing and joking. Bought and paid for

[StealthEnergiser]

What a farce.

The farce was especially the performance by armchair detectives say true or false without any concrete evidence.

The height of absurdity was far exceeded by the petition with tens of thousands of people all equally ignorant of the details of the case.

The evidence we read everything and anything on the net

Proof that petitions can be treated with contempt

.

Shame for those who have asserted the Innocence 2 B on the core principle that they were not the heads of murderers.

The shame for all those who have sullied the Thai authorities simply because they detest this country they have chosen nevertheless.

Needless to mention their names, They will recognize.

Happy Joe you must have missed my questions before

Can you explain why there was no DNA belonging to the B2 on the hoe ???????

How was Hannah and David killed ? please give a clear explanation

Also a link would be great showing how the police came to the conclusion that the B2 used the hoe to kill them.

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[AleG]

Most crucial aspect to me is that the families of the victims are obviously satisfied with the verdict. How could they if they had doubts that just scapegoats are sacrificed here? What now? New accusations that they were paid off as well?

Whatever, let's just wait whether there will be actually an appeal and in the affirmative what the outcome will be.

Amazing indeed. No, not necessarily the verdict but rather the reactions by lay people to it without even knowing the content and explanations in the verdict.

The reactions are the result of people locking themselves up in an echo chamber (and I'm including most of the media here), they only listened to what the defense had to say and to what speculation best fitted their own prejudices.

[Sawan Chan 7]

Thailand just sentenced them selves to death.

I think it may take the country a decade or two to recover from this lie.

Nonsense, how many here remember Chalerm's son being acquitted for murder when there were 22 eye witnesses?

How many remember the Blue Diamond affair. The policeman given life for the murder of the Saudi diplomats served 4 years and is now a free man.

These are disturbing for newbies to Thailand but are soon forgotten.

[aTomsLife]

The Miller's statement is unbelievable. Something very strange going on there. It can't just be grief.

My hunch, something akin to Stockholm syndrome.

[ThaiThaiThailand]

Anybody who thought these two were innocent were living on wishful thinking and ultra biased reports of what was going on in court. I am not for the death penalty but these two are animals and except for their early admissions to police, their lawyers, embassy and rights workers they have showed absolutely no remorse. The people who represented them on this idiotic defense of innocence should be ashamed of themselves. They should have advised they plead guilty and have some hope of seeing freedom again .... then again these two are animals who I don't believe will ever not pose a risk to society.

[ldiablo]

Thailand just sentenced them selves to death.

I think it may take the country a decade or two to recover from this lie.

You don't honestly believe your statement, do you?

[emilymat]

I've just watched the brother making a statement outside the court, praising the judges etc.

I was curious as to how he had a lengthy A4 typed statement to read from, which at times seem memorised. Did they have pre-knowledge of the verdict?. I suppose that must be the case, but I have an awful feeling which I cannot mention. That's what this case has done to me. Suspicion of everything.

[Fairynuff]

It was always going to be this way. Now two more murders will probably happen. I have absolute sympathy for David's family but to hear his brother say the verdict was right and therefore condones the murder of these two guys turns my stomach. Clearly he hasn't a clue of what goes on if he believes justice has been done.

I truly hope that the world will not accept this....I'm probably a hopeless optimist.

[jonwilly]

No one I know believes the Burmese are Guilty.

john

[SOTIRIOS]

....so nothing has changed....

...welcome to Thailand.....

...one condition....

...give all you have...

[Sawan Chan 7]

I received a message from a migrant worker that I know and she wanted to know if I had seen the decision. The message was accompanied by an emoticon crying tears so I expected to see the guilty verdict. The worker told me that she wanted to go back to Myanmar and never return to Thailand. Never, never! While we can decry the verdict on this forum, we cannot feel the fear and frustration of the millions of migrant workers who make a massive contribution to the Thai economy. No good deed goes unpunished -- and a punishment of death will have repercussions in the migrant community for many years. I feel sorrow for those who feel more sorrow than me.

the Burmese have been disliked and mistreated for years, ever since the sacking of Ayutthaya. Similar to the Scots dislike for the English.This is nothing new.

[Estrada]

And so the bubble pops...

The people saying that no evidence was presented are in complete denial, the main evidence against them, DNA found inside the rape victim was presented by the prosecution and not contested in any meaningful way by the defense.

Would like to see the judges' rationale on how they arrived at the verdict.

The judge is supposed to put in writing the rationale behind the decision, I hope someone takes the time and effort to translate it into English, in toto and without creative interpretations or convenient omissions as it has been the norm for the press work on issues related to this case.

The police announced that they had a sample of semen taken from the body and that they had extracted the DNA at 08.00hrs on September 17th The problem is that the pathologist did not even start the autopsy until 11.00hrs. DNA sampling and analyses was not carried out in accordance with "International Standards".

[bruceybonus]

Anybody who thought these two were innocent were living on wishful thinking and ultra biased reports of what was going on in court. I am not for the death penalty but these two are animals and except for their early admissions to police, their lawyers, embassy and rights workers they have showed absolutely no remorse. The people who represented them on this idiotic defense of innocence should be ashamed of themselves. They should have advised they plead guilty and have some hope of seeing freedom again .... then again these two are animals who I don't believe will ever not pose a risk to society.

Diarrhoea straight from the mafia's <deleted> in Koh Tao

[ParadiseLost]

How can Thailand even think for one minute that the world does not know that those 2 people are completely innocent,I hope they never get another person to holiday on that forbidden Island,,its already riddled with corruption and cowards of the lowest form.The people who pull the strings on that Island should hang their heads in shame.

What about a campaign against PADI and any other professional diving organisation supporting the evil scum island?

[dannyman]

What a farce.

The farce was especially the performance by armchair detectives say true or false without any concrete evidence.

The height of absurdity was far exceeded by the petition with tens of thousands of people all equally ignorant of the details of the case.

The evidence we read everything and anything on the net

Proof that petitions can be treated with contempt

.

Shame for those who have asserted the Innocence 2 B on the core principle that they were not the heads of murderers.

The shame for all those who have sullied the Thai authorities simply because they detest this country they have chosen nevertheless.

Needless to mention their names, They will recognize.

Your a farce. Thailand is a farce !

[soalbundy]

since the evidence is so inconclusive the best route that a less than objective,independent judge could have taken would have been to have given them a life sentence, that way when the real perpetrators of this crime are revealed they could be set free. No doubt that the Judge and the incompetent police will sleep soundly tonight secure in the knowledge that they have done their best for the tourist industry.

[Canuk23]

Knew it from the start no way this could go the other way, they would never loose face

2 young men are going to loose their life for something they might not have done,

very sad, they say that they have enough proof but do they have proof behond

any doubt ???

I dont think so, there is reasonable doubt here !!!

[AleG]

BBC Video Miller Family statement in front of Koh Samui Courthouse

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35173548

R.I.P Hannah Witheridge and David Miller, my best wishes to their families.

Churchill said that when you find yourself in Hell the best thing to do is to keep walking, they did so with dignity and remarkable stoicism, at the end they found the justice that they and their lost children deserved.

May life be more gentle with them from now on.

[asiamaster]

How can Thailand even think for one minute that the world does not know that those 2 people are completely innocent,I hope they never get another person to holiday on that forbidden Island,,its already riddled with corruption and cowards of the lowest form.The people who pull the strings on that Island should hang their heads in shame.

Speak for yourself. Apart from some keyboard warriors and armchair investigators everybody thinks they are guilty.....

[ThaiThaiThailand]

Someone whose motivation is beyond question who knows more than any of us ....

Miller's family told the German Press Agnecy the "evidence is absolutely overwhelming" against Myanmar defendants.

"We believe that the result today represents justice for David and Hannah," said Miller's brother Michael, on behalf of the family.

"Justice is what has been delivered today. We respect this court and its decision completely," he said.

[smedly]

The biggest disgrace, is that the british family of the deceased, supports this injustice! Now two other families will feel the same pain, as they did....and they approve of it!!

W*T*F!??

sorry but I don't agree, the family are ordinary people and are used to a justice system and police professionalism they see at home, unless they are all in the police or are lawyers they would generally accept what they are being told and take it at face value only - confessions - matching DNA etc all add up to a convicing case until you actually question the process of how they were obtained recorded tested and presented and how easily it would be to manipulate

If they sat down with a lawyer or other experts with experience in such matters they may just have a different perspective on what went on here, as it is they are seeing it in very simplistic layman terms questioning nothing and simply ticking boxes

Stuff like the phone which was found at the accused residence (very convincing if you believed it), police said it belonged to one of the victims yet all they released was an EMEI number to have checked, what happened the phone found at the crime scene, why not check all the phones for finger prints and DNA - the answer is simple, you cannot fake fingerprints leaving such evidence open to scrutiny if they claimed it existed, there is no recorded evidence trail identifying which phone was which and no further mention of the phone found near the victims - go figure, but hey the police said the phone at the residence was Davids so it must be true

[Fairynuff]

I wonder why they did it?

Many doubt they did. Read Jonathon Head's story above.

Jonathan Head??????

If you don't mind but I'd prefer not to read his drivel

[WaiLai]

This country is on a very fast-track to implosion!

Who wants to stay in or visit a country in which their safety, rights and freedoms are jeopardized and without recourse or compensation.

A van driver gets a 2000bht fine for attempted murder?

2 men get the death penalty for raping 1 of 2 murdered victims? (no conclusive evidence that the weapon was touched by the accused)

A General who brought people to justice for human trafficking called a liar that he was being threatened?

99.3% of the populace said to be happy with the juntas efforts? (according to a junta poll)

When farangs start cutting back on their purchases, the uglies on the street are going to up the ante.

"never bite the hand that feeds you" just doesn't exist here

[Nigeone]

The Miller's statement is unbelievable. Something very strange going on there. It can't just be grief.

Yes..I agree and commented in the previous thread..I don't think I've ever heard such a strong statement after a judgement..They were very critical of 'activists' and full of praise for the Royal Thai Police as they quoted and the evidence was overwhelming ..A incredible statement from David's brother on behalf of the family and can't get my head around what they said about the the court case...Is there something we all don't know or didn't hear ?? I really don't know how they could make such a strong statement after witnessing so much of the trial..beyond belief I'm afraid...

[z42]

like to hear what the families have to say

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35173688

See here, the Miller family are absolute and utter scum as far as i'm concerned, they have blatantly taken the word of the RTP at face value and ignored all of the lying and deception they put forward during the trial and investigation. I feel so sad for the Burmese guys and their innocent families. Nobody here is safe, if you become a candidate for a patsy for a crime some VIP did then frankly it would be kinder if you were just disappeared.

A truly horrendous outcome