THE killers of two British backpackers have been filmed describing how
police told them to confess to the murders “or burn”.
Burmese migrants Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo are seen protesting their innocence and
telling how they were threatened with torture unless they admitted to the
2014 killings of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller.
One officer told them he would throw them into the sea after cutting off one
of their limbs, according to their claims in the footage, captured for
Channel 4’s Murder In Paradise.
The convicts appear behind a pane of glass in a cell with only thin slats to
let in light. They speak via a handset to answer the reporter’s questions.
A translator relays their answers, saying: “They put plastic on (Lin’s) head
and kicked his face, punched and kicked his chest. ‘If you are not going to
confess we are going to kill you’, the police said.
“The police told him (Phyo) to confess, and he said, ‘I don’t know about
this’.
“He (the officer) said, ‘If you don’t confess we will put you in the used
tyres and we will burn you.
“‘You will be burnt. Or they will cut off your leg or hand and you will be
thrown in the sea. If you confess you get one or two years in prison.’”
Hannah, 23, and David, 24, were found bludgeoned to death on the popular Thai
island of Koh Tao in September 2014.
Hannah, from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, was sexually assaulted and murdered with
a garden hoe. David, from Jersey, was clubbed unconscious and later drowned.
They were among SIX Western tourists to have died on Koh Tao in two
years.
Lin and Phyo, both 23, were convicted and sentenced to death for the murders.
But asked in the undercover footage from Koh Samui district prison — where
many inmates suffer scurvy and lack clean drinking water — if they murdered
the Brits, both men deny the crime.
The translator says: “They say that is impossible, impossible. They deny, they
deny that.”
The latest footage of the pair, filmed last December, will spark further
anguish for Hannah and David’s families, who desperately sought justice for
their children.
Hannah and David, like 750,000 other Brits who visit “backpackers’ paradise”
Koh Tao every year, were drawn to the island’s idyllic setting.
It was thought to be much safer than neighbours Koh Samui and Koh Phangan —
home to the raucous Full Moon all-night beach party — with crime limited to
petty theft and the odd fight.
As word spread of its stunning scenery, spectacular diving and £4-a-night
huts, the surge in popularity saw it voted Asia’s No1 island on TripAdvisor
for two years.
But the illusion of a safe haven was shattered when Hannah and David’s bodies
were found on Sairee beach.
As the police scrambled to investigate the killings they came under intense
fire for serious misconduct, including the mishandling of evidence.
Months later officers accused Lin and Phyo of murder after claiming their DNA
matched “100 per cent” that found on Hannah’s body, leading the pair to
confess.
But they went on to withdraw their confessions amid allegations of torture.
Their conviction last year — after a case that was seen to “put Thailand on
trial” — has since been criticised as “flawed” by human rights groups.
The murders sent shockwaves across the island, which has just six police
officers to protect its 2,000 residents and thousands of tourists.
The Hat Sai Ri area, home to Sairee beach, is one of the island’s busiest
resorts, with mid-range hotels, restaurants, bars and dive centres.
But Hannah and David’s deaths were not the last to leave the community
reeling.
On New Year’s Day 2014, 25-year-old Nick Pearson, from Derby, was found
floating in an island bay, at the foot of a 50ft drop. Despite claims of a
fall, he had no broken bones. While police ruled out foul play, Nick’s
family, who say officers did not investigate a single witness, believe he
was murdered.
Mum Tracy said: “I want to warn parents to do anything in their power to stop
their children going to Koh Tao because it is too dangerous.
“The parents of David Miller, Hannah Witheridge and various others must be
going through hell, just like we are and have been for two years.
“It doesn’t go away.”
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Frenchman Dimitri Povse, 29, was found hanged in a bungalow on the island on
New Year’s Day 2015.
His death was ruled as suicide but police could not explain why his hands were
tied behind his back.
Later that month, graduate Christina Annesley, 23, from Orpington, South East
London, died of natural causes after mixing antibiotics she was taking for a
chest infection with alcohol. However, no toxicology report was conducted.
Her dad Boyne said: “We don’t know how or why she died. She had medication for
a chest infection and was drinking, but the Thai police failed to
investigate if the combination was sufficient to kill her.
“There was no toxicology report. The lack of investigation astounds me.”
Boyne tracked down a man who was seen on CCTV leaving Christina’s flat hours
before she was found. Despite being named in police files, officers had not
quizzed him.
He said: “Why they couldn’t contact him to eliminate him, to me, beggars
belief.
“We found him on Facebook and were able to get a phone number, so I rang and
spoke to him. Obviously speaking to the last man to see our daughter alive
was a bit emotional.
“We would have liked to have been the last people to see her alive. But on
talking to him, he seemed quite straightforward.”
In January, two weeks after Lin and Phyo’s convictions, Luke Miller, 27, was
found dead in a hotel pool.
Thai police claimed the backpacker, from Newport, Isle of Wight, had drowned
after hitting his head when he jumped in.
But his family have raised concerns about the investigation, saying they had
received “different versions” of what could have happened.
In the cases of all six victims, the Thai police insist they did investigate
and they deny corruption, blaming any failings on their limited resources on
the island.
The Major General of the Royal Thai Police, Suwat Jangvodsuk, admitted his
force was “not the best” and that he had apologised personally to David’s
family for their mistakes.
After Hannah and David’s murders, photos of their bodies were posted on social
media.
Major Jangvodsuk said: “Some confidential information that leaked out was
really bad, especially the photos of the victims on the crime scene.
“That traumatised the families. I talked to David’s father on the phone, I
said sorry to him.”
The Major insisted he stands by the convictions of Lin and Phyo despite the
objection of forensic scientists, who criticised officers’ handling of
evidence and cast doubt on claims the DNA at the scene was a 100 per cent
match.
Defending the force’s actions, he said: “I have no idea why people don’t
believe in the evidence. We did it in the lab, with a specialist. We are not
the best police in the world but we try to do our best. We try to bring
justice to the family.”
Koh Tao’s mayor, Chaiyan Turasakul, laid blame for the deaths with the
victims.
He said: “These foreigners come to Thailand, they live the lifestyle they want
without realising this is not their country, they are not allowed to do what
they wish.
“When these foreigners live according to their culture, this leads to
accidents and risks to their lives.
“For example, taking an overdose, or driving too fast leading to an accident,
going diving without safety precautions — it all depends on fate.
“However, most of the incidents I come across, the foreigners were dead drunk
and cannot even recall what happened.
“This is one of the main problems.”
— Murder In Paradise is on Channel 4, tomorrow at 10pm.