The Koh Tao murders: I wonder….
October 25, 2014
Certainly, the murder of two English tourists on the island of Koh Tao is appalling. It is called a brutal murder here and there. Any murder in any case is, of course, brutal. The investigation seems or does not seem to go completely smoothly, but the suspected perpetrators have now been arrested.
I wonder a few things in all this history:
To what does this murder case owe so much media attention?
- I don't read newspapers, but for my convenience take thailandblog.nl as an example: the murder was on September 15, so almost 40 days ago. So far more than 30 posts about this murder case have appeared on thailandblog.nl, so almost every day! In newspapers and social media, especially in Thailand and England, it will not have been much different. Was that really necessary or relevant?
- I've never seen a murder case get so much attention. It concerns two English tourists, not of royal blood, not dignitaries, not society figures, but just two English citizens. The seriousness of this murder regardless of their origin is of course not disputed by me.
- Could it be a good looking young lady?
There is quite a bit of smirking about the police investigation, why?
- Well, it may not have all gone smoothly, but is that always the case with us in the West? Figures from the Netherlands, for example, indicate that only 20% of murder cases are solved.
- England wants to assist with English agents in the investigation. So, have all the murders in England been solved, leaving time for Scotland Yard?
The British ambassadors have asked the Thai media to report "ethically" responsible news, citing the photos of the victims as an example.
- Will the same request be made to the English (tabloid) press to be more restrained? No, the journalists among us will say, we only report the news. If you go through the news, one rumor follows another speculation, that's all News
- The suffering of the next of kin is not reduced by all those rumors and speculation, on the contrary, it only gets worse.
What can we expect from the case in court?
- The suspected perpetrators are found guilty and sentenced. At least diplomatic relations with Myanmar are taking a big hit because the two suspects "have been set up".
- The suspected perpetrators are found innocent and acquitted. Diplomatic relations with England are taking a big hit, because "the police investigation was no good at all".
Thanks to or despite the immense media attention? You say it!
In my view, the case stands or falls with the DNA evidence, and the care with which the investigation was conducted. A second opinion from a reputable pathologist recognized by all parties may provide a definite answer.
If the DNA material found in the girl has been tampered with, the whole trial is a farce anyway, and the evidence rests solely on the coerced confessions.
Time will tell, but I'm very skeptical about the RTP's handling so far.
Dear Gringo,
I don't think it's very difficult to find out why this murder (but especially the handling of it) is causing so much commotion. In the first place I should note that the commotion in Western countries and among Western people is, in my opinion, much greater than among Thais. It's definitely not the talk of the town at work, except between my English roommate and me. The cause lies in the completely unprofessional crisis management following the murder. Some of its ingredients:
– Different officials express themselves in different terms on different elements of the case;
– Stupid statements such as about the swimwear of the murdered tourist, the fact that a Thai could never commit such murders (no, they sometimes cut their victims into pieces and dump the parts in the klong) and about the role of social media ( as if they are guilty of the publicity);
– Unconditionally support the actions of the police in this matter;
– Disregarding the fact that in a small community like Koh Tao everyone knows everyone else. An American who has lived there for 25 years writes (from the USA) a posting on the internet in which he tells how the island is controlled by 5 families and that everyone on the island knows who committed the murders;
– Disregarding the fact that Koh Tao has been a kind of haven for sex, drugs and rock & roll for and by tourists, foreign workers and Thai owners for years;
– Stupid proposals to prevent similar murders as bracelets for tourists, ban on foreign workers on the island from socializing with tourists after work and an image campaign to turn the island into a diving hub;
– Disbelief and ignorance about the role of social media in these matters. Nothing is secret anymore but that seems hard to accept. And social media has made sure that this case became international political news (eg online petitions);
– The transparency of the police to more or less dismiss this murder as a crime of foreigners against foreigners on Thai territory.
This murder is now in such a spotlight that the Thai authorities are obliged to find the real perpetrators. If this concerns people affiliated with the powerful families on Koh Tao (who in turn have links with Mr Suthep on Koh Samui), another problem arises. The possible perpetrators are then brought before a judge, charged, most likely released on bail (as is the custom here) and then disappear to a friendly neighboring country for 10 or more years without being convicted. Birds flown, murder 'solved'. With all the ongoing commotion, this hardly seems acceptable to the relatives and the foreign countries involved (England, Myanmar).
At the risk of chatting, I do want to say that these murders are indeed not the talk of the day among Thais, but that the Thai social media are indeed full of them. There too, there is a lot of criticism of the unprofessional behavior of the police. I have never read a good word about the Thai police, not even from Thais.
The seriousness of this murder case does not escape me, although I must say that it is not or hardly discussed in my Thai as well as in my mostly English circle of acquaintances.
My point is the unbridled media attention it gets. List all the messages that have appeared on this blog about this case and then agree with me that at least half of them could have been left out. Suspicions, assumptions, rumors, unprovable allegations, all news? Also in your response another assumption, which is not based on anything, an American who knows it so well.
Take the message just below: “Emotional reunion in prison”. Did anyone expect a different reunion than emotionally expected? Is that news? I could write a story with a very high Panorama content just about this post.
Name me another murder case that has received so much attention. How often has the murder of John Mieremet been in the news, what about the murder of Fred Raily in Udon Thani, have you heard anything about the murder of Daphne Beerdsen in Cambodia?
Just sayin!
Yes, dear Gringo, the murder of the young British couple was clearly a criminal settlement. 🙁 It is logical that the investigation is therefore rattling on all sides, although on the one hand it is incomprehensible that those 'heavy guys' did not come up with the idea earlier to make the murder of Mieremet look like it was carried out by 2 poor guest workers from Myanmar…
This murder case has so much media attention, anyway because they are two tourists, because of this there is another country involved after Thailand, and then the suspects also come from another country, so that three countries are already involved in the murder case. It is also true that Thailand is a very popular country with young people, so it only takes one thing to do and it reaches a very large group of people, partly through Facebook and Twitter, etc. Do not underestimate the coverage on the internet thanks to these sites, wherever once the ghastly photographs of the victims' bodies have been shown. Also thanks to the rattling police investigation, this case is closely followed in the media.
And you ask yourself why people are rather smirking about the police investigation, because not all murders are solved in the Netherlands and England, you cannot solve all murders either, but you can deal with it as professionally as possible, certainly also from respect for the deceased and their families.
The main thing is that from the beginning of this case the police handled it very amateurishly, photographers and tourists were just given the chance to walk on the crime scene and take pictures and touch things, nothing was cordoned off with ribbon, so that a lot of evidence has been destroyed. (This will never happen in England and the Netherlands) Then two boys from Myanmar are arrested, one of whom is said to have the phone, the phone that was previously handed in by a friend at the police station ? Then the two have to go to the crime scene for a reconstruction, but the police has to point out the place, because the boys don't know exactly where it happened, and the rest has also been confessed, confession through torture?, no lawyer ,etc…
Coincidentally was in the UK for a week at the end of September - there it made the front pages of the noise charts every day - in NL it was hardly printed after the first report. Kind of like that couple who were found dead in a guesthouse in ChinagMai—presumably from over-intoxicating anti-insect poison.
The case has also been strongly promoted by a few NGOs who stand up for the always so heavily oppressed Burmese, just as the “sorry situation” of the Karen/Shan is brought to the attention every so often. I have spent a little too long with these groups myself. That does not mean that the Burmese would not be exploited - Koh Tao is effectively almost entirely populated in the tourist sector by Burmese - they speak better English and want to work there.
Now we have to wait and see how much attention is paid to the case of the murderous lady who collected the life insurance of almost certainly 2 Japanese people. She has now known the most recent.
Very justified concern and I know the reason!
It has to do with what I try to make clear in 70% of my posts here: Thailand is an extremely safe country (compared to almost all other countries in the world) and a massacre like this is rather rare in the country.
I sometimes find it really disturbing to regularly emphasize that Thailand has many unsafe aspects and to regularly warn readers about this.
It can create an unnecessary feeling of insecurity, while this does not correspond to reality.
I think this is the only very small flaw on this great (Thailand) blog.
Thailand is not that safe, at least not for the Thai.
However, most crimes, including murders, do not make it to the newspapers.
Certainly not the English-language newspapers.
Burglary is the order of the day, as are robberies and other crimes.
For foreigners it is safer in the tourist areas, because of the financial interests of Thailand (and the local mafia).
For the Thai, those areas are just as unsafe.
Also in the village where I live, the village chief prefers not that if I go for a late walk, I leave the village.
And I'm a long way from the big city.
@Pat How the hell can you describe Thailand as very safe hundreds of people die in traffic every day. The (fire) weapon possession is extremely high and even worse, those weapons are very regularly used against both Thai and tourists, not to mention other dubious murder cases (it's strange that so many people mysteriously commit suicide on their vacation hey in Thailand). I really like coming to Thailand, but those pink Thailand glasses that some have have I have long taken off.