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19 March 2024

Thai police hunt 'prime suspect' in murder of British pair

David Miller and Hannah Witheridge Pic: AFP

Published
By AFP

Thai police on Wednesday identified a man caught on security camera as the "prime suspect" in the murder of two British tourists on a resort island, as detectives raised hopes that a post-mortem examination would yield valuable clues.

The man was seen on closed circuit television near a bar on Koh Tao island where David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, were partying shortly before they were beaten to death early on Monday.

Pic: Facebook

Local media reports said the man - believed to be of Asian appearance - was twice seen on camera, the first time passing the bar and later hurriedly returning from the direction where the bodies of the British pair were found behind some rocks.

"He is the prime suspect but we don't know his whereabouts yet," Kiattipong Khawsamang, Surat Thani provincial police commander, said, confirming the man in the CCTV footage was Asian.

Several Myanmar nationals working on the resort have already been quizzed over the killings, which have shocked the small community of travellers and residents on the normally tranquil resort island, a diving hot-spot near Koh Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand.

"We have questioned four to five Myanmar migrant workers and allowed them to go back to their rooms -- but under their employers' watch," he said.

Pic: Facebook

Myanmar migrants are frequently accused of committing crimes in the kingdom, where they make up a vast, poorly-paid and low-status workforce.

Hopes turn to DNA

On Wednesday scores of police continued to hunt for clues to the gruesome crime, as pressure to resolve the case mounted with the investigation entering a third day without an arrest.

Senior officers are hoping a post-mortem examination of the victims' bodies - which arrived at a Bangkok forensic centre late Tuesday - could yield a breakthrough.

"We have to wait for the result of DNA tests," regional police commander Panya Maman told AFP, adding genetic samples had been taken from six Myanmar nationals.

Another senior policeman said two of Miller's friends - both British men in their 20s - had agreed to remain in Thailand at the request of the police.

Pic: Reuters

"They are not yet suspects... but we have asked them to cooperate until the case becomes clear,"  Deputy National Police Chief Somyot Poompanmoung told AFP.

In a statement issued late Tuesday Miller's family described the engineering graduate as "hard-working, bright, conscientious, with everything to look forward to".

Thailand's military ruler on Tuesday urged investigators to conclude the cases "swiftly", no doubt aware of the potential damage the grisly killings could do to the country's image as a tourist haven.

Condemning the crime, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who is also the outgoing army chief, also appeared to question the conduct of the victims and warned foreigners to take care in the kingdom.

Thailand will be desperate to avoid further damage to the nation's lucrative tourism industry, which has been battered in recent months after a prolonged political crisis ended in a coup.

With the start of the tourist high season just two months away, the junta has vowed to restore the nation's reputation as the "Land of Smiles", embarking on a clean-up of tourist resorts after a series of complaints about scams, assaults and even police extortion.

Britons beaten to death on Thai island

The naked bodies of two British tourists apparently beaten to death were found on a Thai beach, sparking a murder hunt.

The suspect is believed to still be on the small resort island of Koh Tao.

Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were found with head wounds near a beachside bungalow on the island, a diving hot-spot near Koh Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand.

A bloodied hoe was discovered 35 metres from the murder scene, local police official Jakkrapan Kaewkhao told AFP.

Pic: AP

"They were murdered and found naked on the beach. Their bodies were found 30 metres from (the) bungalow," he said, adding the pair arrived in Thailand on August 25.

The bodies were found around 6.30am and police spent the day interviewing witnesses but have yet to identify a suspect or motive, he added.

Provincial police chief Kiattipong Khawsamang said "most of the wounds were to their heads" adding the suspect, or suspects, were "probably still on the island".

Checkpoints have been set-up on the island's two piers as local police called in reinforcements from neighbouring Koh Phangan, while high seas prevented ferries and boats from leaving.

Distraught friends of the victims, who had seen the pair partying at a local bar just hours before the gruesome discovery of their bodies, gathered at the local police station, a third officer said.

"This is a very cruel crime," Prachum Ruangthong, superintendent of Koh Phangan police station, told AFP, adding the bodies would be sent for forensic examination in Bangkok.

Horror in paradise

In a statement the British Embassy in Bangkok said officials were "urgently seeking information from local authorities".

"Consular staff stand ready to provide assistance to friends and family at this tragic time," it added.

Koh Tao, home to stunning white sand beaches and azure waters, is popular with divers but is smaller and more laid-back than neighbouring Koh Phangan, which draws hordes of backpackers to its hedonistic "full moon" party.

A shocked employee at the budget seaside resort where they were staying told AFP the bodies were found behind large rocks on the beach.

"It was the first time this has happened on the island, I have never seen anything like this," the staff member added, requesting anonymity.

The murders are likely to heap more misery on Thailand's lucrative tourism industry which has been battered in recent months after a prolonged political crisis ended in a coup.

The army swiftly blanketed the country with a curfew and strict martial law, frightening off visitors.

Although the curfew was soon lifted from key tourist hotspots, visitor numbers have yet to rebound and martial law remains in place.

Military leaders have vowed to restore the nation's reputation as the "Land of Smiles" with a clean-up targeting tourist resorts after a series of complaints about scams, assaults and even police extortion.

Britain says Thailand is the country where its citizens are second most likely to require consular assistance if they visit, behind the Philippines.

There were 389 deaths of British nationals in Thailand in the year to March 2013, about one for every 2400 British visitors or residents, although that figure includes natural causes.

But it is rare for tourists to be murdered in Thailand, although visitors frequently perish in accidents.

In July last year a 51-year-old American tourist was stabbed to death after an apparent row in a bar in Krabi, another popular tourist haven.

His death came just weeks after another American was slashed to death by a taxi driver in Bangkok after an apparent argument over the fare.