KOH TAO KILLINGS
NHRC sending a team to investigate crime scene as suspects retract confession
THE MYANMAR lawyers of the two men charged with the Koh Tao murders of two British tourists have asked Thailand's National Human Rights Commission and the Myanmar Embassy in the Kingdom to push for British police to conduct independent DNA tests in the case, as they believe their clients are innocent.
Myanmar nationals Zaw Rin and Win have retracted their earlier confessions to police. Their lawyers are confident the charges against the two men will be dropped.
The NHRC, meanwhile, is sending a team to examine the crime scene.
The latest twist in the murder case came after Myanmar President Thein Sein asked visiting Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha on Friday to ensure a "clean and fair" investigation.
On social media sites, many users refused to accept the result of the police investigation and raised the possibility that the two Myanmar nationals may be scapegoats in the murders of David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23. Their bodies were found on the island on September 15.
Police chief General Somyot Pumpanmuang has insisted many times that police did not frame the accused.
The NHRC is seeking to have forensic experts dispatched to Koh Tao to examine the case in detail.
Pol Maj-General Pavin Pongsirisin, the head of the investigation, said yesterday that he was confident everything was fair and police had submitted all the papers relating to the investigation to the Office of the Attorney-General.
In a related development, British Ambassador to Thailand Mark Kent urged Thai social media users not to spread disturbing photos relating to the case or passport photos and details of the victims, saying their families had already suffered a lot. He made the request via his Thai-language blog on Friday. He also urged the Thai mainstream mass media not to prejudge the accused and let the justice process run its course.
Kent said the Thai media, including the social media, should be "responsible as well as free".
Regional Public Prosecution 8 deputy director-general Thawatchai Siangjaew said he had not been informed yet about the police's additional interrogation of the two suspects in prison while a deputy chief of Provincial Police Region 8 denied the suspects had retracted their confession. Thawatchai said prosecutors would consider for indictment mainly the evidence in the case, including CCTTV footage from the crime scene and witness testimonies. The retraction of confession by suspects would not influence their decision to indict them, he added.
Prosecutors are still waiting for the police investigators' submission of the amended case report. He said once the report is submitted, the prosecutors should be able to make a decision within seven days.
Meanwhile, tourists continue to flock to Koh Tao under the watchful eye of tourist police and volunteers. The number of tourists is not high but it is still the low season, with strong ocean currents and monsoon rains.
Myanmar nationals Zaw Rin and Win have retracted their earlier confessions to police. Their lawyers are confident the charges against the two men will be dropped.
The NHRC, meanwhile, is sending a team to examine the crime scene.
The latest twist in the murder case came after Myanmar President Thein Sein asked visiting Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha on Friday to ensure a "clean and fair" investigation.
On social media sites, many users refused to accept the result of the police investigation and raised the possibility that the two Myanmar nationals may be scapegoats in the murders of David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23. Their bodies were found on the island on September 15.
Police chief General Somyot Pumpanmuang has insisted many times that police did not frame the accused.
The NHRC is seeking to have forensic experts dispatched to Koh Tao to examine the case in detail.
Pol Maj-General Pavin Pongsirisin, the head of the investigation, said yesterday that he was confident everything was fair and police had submitted all the papers relating to the investigation to the Office of the Attorney-General.
In a related development, British Ambassador to Thailand Mark Kent urged Thai social media users not to spread disturbing photos relating to the case or passport photos and details of the victims, saying their families had already suffered a lot. He made the request via his Thai-language blog on Friday. He also urged the Thai mainstream mass media not to prejudge the accused and let the justice process run its course.
Kent said the Thai media, including the social media, should be "responsible as well as free".
Regional Public Prosecution 8 deputy director-general Thawatchai Siangjaew said he had not been informed yet about the police's additional interrogation of the two suspects in prison while a deputy chief of Provincial Police Region 8 denied the suspects had retracted their confession. Thawatchai said prosecutors would consider for indictment mainly the evidence in the case, including CCTTV footage from the crime scene and witness testimonies. The retraction of confession by suspects would not influence their decision to indict them, he added.
Prosecutors are still waiting for the police investigators' submission of the amended case report. He said once the report is submitted, the prosecutors should be able to make a decision within seven days.
Meanwhile, tourists continue to flock to Koh Tao under the watchful eye of tourist police and volunteers. The number of tourists is not high but it is still the low season, with strong ocean currents and monsoon rains.
