Koh Tao murders: Parents say sons threatened with fire, dismemberment and tasers

24 ตุลาคม 2557

Relatives on Friday met with the two Myanmar suspects in the Koh Tao tourist murders and gave vivid accounts of violent death threats which forced them to confess to crimes they say they didn't commit.

Relatives on Friday met with the two Myanmar suspects in the Koh Tao tourist murders and gave vivid accounts of violent death threats which forced them to confess to crimes they say they didn't commit.

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Saturday

Tun Tun Htike (left) and his wife Zaw Aye Maung talk with reporters after visiting their son Win Zaw Htun at the Samui prison on Friday. SUPAPONG CHAOLAN

Audio follows yesterday's text

Parents visit Koh Tao murder suspects

Bangkok Post
Democratic Voice of Burma

SURAT THANI — Relatives on Friday met with the two Myanmar suspects in the Koh Tao tourist murders for the first time since their arrest three weeks ago.

Afterward, they gave vivid accounts of violent death threats that the suspects claimed police made to force confessions to crimes that they now deny.

Tun Tun Htike and his wife Zaw Aye Maung, the parents of Win Zaw Htun, and Phu Shwe Nu and Thien Shwe Aug, the mother and uncle of Zaw Lin, visited the men for more than two hours at the prison on Koh Samui in Surat Thani province.

Nine people accompanying them to the prison included representatives of the Myanmar embassy, the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand and Lawyers Council of Thailand.

The two migrant workers are charged with killing Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, whose bodies were found on Sai Ree beach on Koh Tao on Sept 15. They are also charged with raping Witheridge.

Tun Tun Htike said after the meeting that his son confirmed in tears that he was innocent and that police had tortured him to confess that he and Zaw Lin had killed the two British tourists.

"I hope for justice from the Thai judicial process for my son,” he said.

Tun Tun Htike gave more shocking details of the meeting with his son in an exclusive interview with DVB.

"The interrogators told them to confess to the crime, and threatened to cut off their limbs, put them in a bag and dump them in a river if they did not,'' DVB quoted him as saying.

"The police also threatened to tie the two boys to a tyre, pour petrol on it, and set it alight," the father said. "My son said they were terrified and confessed. But now that we [their parents and Myanmar officials] are present, they can speak the truth — that they did not commit the murder.

"My son also told me that the police threatened to use tasers on them."

Theerawut Prammahant, deputy chief of the Samui state prosecution office, receives a complaint on the police handling of the case. He has promised to forward it to the head Office of the Attorney General as soon as possible. SUPAPONG CHAOLAN

The parents and those accompanying them later lodged a complaint in writing with the Office of the Attorney-General through the office in Samui district. The evidence includes letters signed by the two suspects, their mothers, and the lawyers for the embassy and council.

Friay's story

Parents of migrant workers Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, seen here outside a hotel on Koh Samui last evening, have won permission to visit the accused killers in jail today. SUPAPONG CHAOLAN

Parents to visit Koh Tao duo in jail

Post Reporters

The parents of the Myanmar men accused of murdering British tourists Hannah Witheridge and David Miller on Koh Tao last month have arrived on Koh Samui and will meet their sons at the Koh Samui prison today.

Human rights advocate Surapong Kongchantuk said the parents will be accompanied by officials from the Myanmar embassy and a team of lawyers from the Lawyers Council of Thailand. Mr Surapong is also head of the council's human rights subcommittee on ethnic minorities.

The embassy was comfortable working with the council as it was a neutral organisation and not affiliated to the police, he said.

Suspects Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun have recanted their confessions, claiming they were tortured into admitting to the crimes.

Prosecutors say they will press ahead regardless.

Mr Surapong said prosecutors may request another investigation by a new team if they find too many loopholes in the current police probe.

At this stage, he added, any new evidence could be added to the case if prosecutors find it to be valid.

Meanwhile, police spokesman Pol Lt Gen Prawut Thawornsiri said Thursday that British officers arrived in Thailand on Wednesday to observe the Koh Tao murder investigation.

The British government earlier asked if its police could observe the probe.

The team comprises a Metropolitan DCI (Detective Chief Inspector) from the homicide and major crime unit, a forensic operations coordinator from the Met, and an experienced homicide detective from Norfolk police.

They may offer additional assistance if requested by Thai authorities.