Myanmar migrant workers Zaw Lin, center, and Win Zaw Htun, rear, arrive at a provincial court in Surat Thani province
Ten months after two British tourists were killed on a resort island in Thailand, prosecutors called their first witnesses yesterday in a case marked by claims that the accused — two migrant workers from Myanmar — were tortured into confessing.
Following widespread attention, the case has been called a test for Thailand’s justice system and its treatment of migrant laborers.
The battered bodies of David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, were found Sept. 15 on the rocky shores of Koh Tao, a scenic island in the Gulf of Thailand known for its scuba diving. Autopsies showed that the young backpackers, who had met on the island while staying at the same hotel, had both suffered severe head wounds and that Witheridge had been raped.
The first policeman on the scene, Lt. Jakrapan Kaewkao, told the court that he got a call at 6:30 a.m. that morning about two tourists’ bodies found on the beach. He said he arrived to find a gruesome sight.
“I found a man’s body lying on the beach with seawater lapping his body,” said Jakrapan, the prosecution’s first witness. “Then I found the woman’s body behind the rocks.” The rocks were spotted with blood, he said. The two bodies were several meters (yards) apart and both were mostly unclothed, with Witheridge’s body bearing signs of physical assault, he said.
Inside the small courtroom on Koh Samui, an island near Koh Tao, the accused sat in orange prison uniforms with their legs shackled.
The two men — Win Zaw Htun and Zaw Lin, both 22 — were arrested in early October and initially confessed to the killings but then retracted their statements, saying they were extracted through beatings and threats, which police deny. Human rights groups repeatedly called for an independent investigation and raised concerns that the men might be scapegoats.
The accused were indicted on several charges related to the murders and to illegally working in Thailand. Prosecutors say they have a solid case against them that includes DNA evidence linking them to the crime. Thanyarat Doksone, Koh Samui AP
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