Migrant Worker Confesses to Murdering British Tourists -“Not Under Arrest”

Migrant Workers for Myanmar line up for DNA testing on Koh Tao Island

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KOH TAO – According to acting Deputy Police Commissioner General Pol Gen Jakthip Chaijinda a migrant  Burmese worker  has admitted to the killing two British tourists.

Assistant national police chief Pol Lt Gen Chakthip – Photo Bangkok Post

Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were found dead on a beach on the island of Koh Tao, a popular tourist destination, on 15 September.

Thai newspaper The Nation reported the man from Burma, also known as Myanmar, admitted carrying out the attack.

“The investigation has advanced considerably,” Lieutenant General Jaktip Chaijinda, Thailand’s deputy national chief of police, told Reuters. “Three Burmese workers were detained and we took their DNA for testing. During the investigation one of them admitted to killing the two foreigners,” he said.

According to Pol.Lt.Gen. Chaktip Chaijinda, deputy chief of Thai police, the Burmese worker told police he came across David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, while they were “having sex” on one of the island’s beaches.

The suspect then became “aroused” and decided to sexually assault Witheridge and murder her and Miller, Pol.Lt.Gen. Chaktip said.

It is not clear whether the two other Burmese men in police custody were involved in the murder.

However the Bangkok Post has reported that Assistant national police chief Pol Lt Gen Chakthip Chaichinda has been appointed to oversee the investigation into the murder of two British tourists on Koh Tao in Surat Thani, while more than two weeks have passed with no suspects formally identified or arrested.

National police chief Pol Gen Somyot Pumpanmuang said Wednesday he will sign an order appointing Pol Lt Gen Chakthip to lead the probe into the murder of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, whose dead bodies were found on a beach on the island on Sept 15.

With Pol Lt Gen Chakthip in charge, the integration and efficiency of the investigation should improve, said Pol Gen Somyot, who insisted the police investigation had met international standards.

A police source meanwhile said officers were going after three more people of interest who were caught on a security camera at a convenience store near Sairee beach on the night of the murder.

According to the source, police have collected a DNA sample from items believed to have been bought from a convenience store close to the crime scene.

The items could have been dropped by the murder suspects, leaving a clue to help identify them, the source said.

Pol Lt Gen Panya also dismissed a claim by footballer Pornprasit Sukdam, 37, that he was beaten on Monday into confessing involvement. He said the allegation was totally untrue.

Meanwhile the Phuket Gazette has reported that a taxi driver on Koh Tao, off the Surat Thani coast, yesterday went public with his accusation that police investigating the murders of two British tourists had tried to intimidate him into providing false testimony.

According to Pol.Lt.Gen. Chaktip Chaijinda, deputy chief of Thai police, the Burmese worker told police he came across David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, while they were “having sex” on one of the island’s beaches.

According to the source, police have collected a DNA sample from items believed to have been bought from a convenience store close to the crime scene.

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