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Home News Asia

Thailand Backpackers Murder Trial Resumes, Focus on DNA Evidence

Amy Sawitta Lefevre by Amy Sawitta Lefevre
July 22, 2015
in Uncategorized
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Thailand Backpackers Murder Trial Resumes

Burmese migrant workers Zaw Lin (R) and Win Zaw Htun arrive at the Koh Samui Provincial Court in Koh Samui

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KOH SAMUI, Thailand — Defence lawyers in the trial of two Burmese men accused of killing two British backpackers on a Thai resort island last year said on Wednesday they would focus on the reliability of crucial DNA evidence.

British tourists Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were killed last September. Their bodies were found on a beach on Koh Tao, a Thai island in the Andaman Sea popular with backpackers and divers.

The killings drew outrage in Britain and raised questions about the competence of Thai police and the treatment of migrant laborers in Thailand.

RelatedPosts

Two Burmese migrants convicted of killing a British couple on Thailand’s Koh Tao Island in 2014. / Bangkok Pos

Thai Court Extends Deadline for Counter Appeal in Koh Tao Murder Case

December 27, 2017
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Myanmar migrant workers Zaw Lin (C) and Wai Phyo (L), also known as Win Zaw Htun, arrive at the Koh Samui Provincial Court, in Koh Samui, Thailand, July 8, 2015. / Athit Perawongmetha / Reuters

Defense Team Submits Supreme Court Appeal in Koh Tao Murder Case

August 21, 2017
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Myanmar migrant workers Zaw Lin (L) and Win Zaw Htun (R) arrive at the Koh Samui provincial court in Koh Samui, Thailand, on December 24, 2015. / Athit Perawongmetha / Reuters

Deadline Approaches for Supreme Court Appeal in Koh Tao Murder Case 

August 16, 2017
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Following weeks of pressure on authorities to solve the crime, Thai police said in October that Burmese workers Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, both 22, had initially confessed to the killings. Both later retracted their statements, saying they had been tortured into confessing.

The murder trial, which began earlier this month, has been consumed by allegations of police incompetence and the mishandling of evidence. Rights groups have also claimed the men are being used as scapegoats because of their status as foreign migrant workers in Thailand.

At the heart of the trial is a debate over DNA samples that police say link the two suspects to Witheridge’s body.

Police have issued conflicting statements about the DNA, including that some was lost or “used up.” They later took back that statement, saying DNA samples had not been lost.

Defence lawyers said that evidence would remain the focus when the trial resumed on Wednesday.

“Questioning today will focus on the DNA of the accused and the collection of the DNA,” lead defence lawyer Nakhon Chompuchat told Reuters.

A court on the island of Samui, where the trial is taking place, ordered this month that remaining forensic evidence in the case be sent for reexamination at the Thai justice ministry’s central forensic institute.

“We still have not seen any progress on the request to see the DNA gathered by police,” Nakhon said.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Migrant Issues
Amy Sawitta Lefevre

Amy Sawitta Lefevre

Reuters

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