Myanmarese workers sentenced to death for killing British tourists

A Thai court has convicted two Myanmarese workers of rape and murder of two British tourists on the holiday island in September last year.

Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were sentenced to death for the rape and murder of 23-year-old Hannah Witheridge from Norfolk, and the murder of 24-year-old David Miller from Jersey.

The murder took place on Koh Tao, a popular island with young backpackers. It took the court for more than a year to reach the conclusion that the two workers from Myanmar were behind the brutal incidents.

Prosecutors build much of their case around initial confessions by the two suspects and DNA evidence which tied them to the crime. However, the defense team argued the much of the confession were gained under torture.

The verdict has been described as just by one victim’s family. But in a statement, Miller’s family said they believed the police investigation and forensic work “was not the so-called shambles it was made out to be”. The Witheridge family had been in Koh Samui to observe some of the trial, but did not attend the last verdict.

The court verdict has prompted harsh reactions from rights groups. Human Rights Watch has described it as “profoundly disturbing”, while Reprieve called the trial process “flawed and unfair”.

“In a trial where torture allegations by the two accused were left un-investigated and DNA evidence was called into question by Thailand’s most prominent forensic pathologist, both the verdict and these death sentences are profoundly disturbing.” Phil Robertson, the deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division, said

Amnesty International also called for an independent investigation into the torture allegations.

“The Thai police force has a long and disturbing track record of using torture and other forms of ill-treatment to extract ‘confessions’. This is far from an isolated case – the Thai authorities must start taking concrete steps to stamp out torture, not just paying lip service to doing so”, Champa Patel, Amnesty International’s director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said.

There are about 2.5 million Myanmarese, working mainly for tourism industry in Thailand.  Human rights groups have noted that many migrant workers have previously been wrongly accused of crimes by Thai police.

The Thai authorities had been under pressure to solve the case quickly as it threatened the country’s vital tourism industry. The defense team is planning to appeal against the verdict but even if succeeds,  Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo could be commuted to life in jail. 

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