Reuters
Two Myanmar men were charged yesterday with the murder of two British tourists in Thailand, public prosecutors said, the latest turn in a roller-coaster case that has been blighted by allegations of a bungled investigation and ill treatment.
The bodies of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24 were discovered on the southern holiday island of Koh Tao on September 15. A post-mortem examination revealed that the pair died from blows to the head and that Witheridge had been raped.
The killings crippled tourism, which accounts for nearly 10% of Thai gross domestic product, and the investigation has raised serious questions over police tactics.
Thailand is under martial law following a May coup that saw the army seize power after months of political demonstrations, which had already kept some visitors away.
Myanmar workers Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, both 21, were named as suspects in October. Police said the pair had confessed to the murders and that DNA samples found on Witheridge matched the suspects - despite the fact that the two had at the time yet to appear in court to face any charge and speak for themselves.
Wai Phyo was formerly identified as Win Zaw Htun.
Both later retracted their confessions, saying they had been beaten and threatened with electrocution - accusations police deny.
Last month, the suspects appealed to the victims’ families and the British government for help. In a letter written in Burmese, the pair said they had nothing to do with the crime.
Rights groups, including Amnesty International, have expressed concerns about the police probe and called for an independent investigation into allegations of ill-treatment.
A lawyer for two Myanmar migrants accused of murdering a pair of British holidaymakers yesterday said key witnesses are too afraid to come forward, hampering his clients’ defence as they prepare to enter a plea.
Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun, both migrant workers aged 21, were formally indicted for trial yesterday and are due to enter a plea on Monday, according to prosecutors on nearby Koh Samui, where the case will be heard.
“The court will ask the defendants whether they confess or deny the charges,” chief prosecutor Paiboon Archavanuntakun told AFP.
The pair—who did not appear in court —are also accused of battery and illegal entry to Thailand, among other charges, he added.
They were arrested in October after police said they had found the men’s DNA on Witheridge’s body and that they had admitted to the crimes.
But Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun later retracted their confessions, alleging they were obtained under duress.
Their families and legal team have also protested their innocence, saying the men have been made scapegoats by a police force desperate for a quick conclusion to a crime which raised fears over tourist safety in the kingdom.
One of the two men’s lawyers told AFP his clients vulnerable immigrant status meant witnesses were scared of testifying or willing to come to his defence.
“This case is not fair... they were migrant workers so witnesses do not dare to testify (for the defence),” Nakhon Chomphuchat, head of their Thai legal team, told AFP.
“We have many disadvantages... we still have not seen the prosecutors’ evidence, we just have to fight as best as we can,” he added.
On Tuesday the defendants submitted a letter to the court urging witnesses to come forward to help clear their name.
Migrant workers, particularly from neighbouring Myanmar and Cambodia, are often accused of crimes in the kingdom.
Rights groups say they lack fair access to Thailand’s already murky legal system.
Questions over the police probe prompted British prime minister David Cameron to urge his Thai counterpart, Prayut Chan-O-Cha, to allow Scotland Yard detectives to review the Thai case.
A team of British detectives visited Thailand in November but are yet to reveal their findings.
Yesterday the father of Win Zaw Tun repeated his belief in his son’s innocence.
“Our son is not a murderer, but he has been locked up like a criminal,” he told AFP in Myanmar’s commercial capital, Yangon.
“I want the Thai government to capture the real criminal. Knowing my son is in jail makes me suffer terribly. If I could swap with him I would,” he added.
The grisly murders delivered a fresh blow to the kingdom’s image as a tourist haven after months of political protests that ended in May’s army coup.
Martial law is still in place across the country, and tourist arrivals have eased off on last year.