• Burmese
Sunday, June 22, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
30 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Parallels Drawn Between Ranong Murder, Koh Tao Case        

Moe Myint by Moe Myint
May 30, 2016
in Burma
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
Parallels Drawn Between Ranong Murder

Burmese migrant workers suspected of murder during a crime re-enactment in the southern Thai border town of Ranong on Oct. 27. (Photo: Foundation for Education and Development)

4.3k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

RANGOON — Htoo Chit, executive director of the Foundation for Education and Development (FED), argued at a press conference on Monday that four Burmese migrant workers are being scapegoated in a case he says smacks of the high-profile Koh Tao double murder that saw two Burmese men controversially convicted and sentenced to death.

Orawee Sampaotong, a 17-year-old Thai high school student, was killed on Sept. 28 in Thailand’s Ranong province, which borders Burma. Police allegedly found no leads in the case after investigating for nearly a month, but on Oct. 20, four Burmese migrant workers—Kyaw Soe Win, Moe Zin Aung, Sein Ka Tone and Wai Lin—were arrested near Kuraburi seaport, located more than 60 miles from Ranong province, Htoo Chit said.

A year before, in September 2014, two British backpackers were murdered on the Thai island of Koh Tao. A pair of Burmese migrant workers were eventually arrested by police and, on Dec. 24 of last year, sentenced to death by a court in Koh Samui, despite vocal claims of malfeasance in investigators’ handling of the evidence and police conduct in their interrogations of the suspects.

RelatedPosts

Renowned Myanmar language teacher John Okell is still inspiring students, five decades on.

Love of the Lingo

August 5, 2020
10.2k
--

‘Secret Garden’ in Wa Special Region Leaves Much to the Imagination

February 27, 2020
8.5k
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
6k

Htoo Chit said he believed this most recent murder investigation was meant to “trap” the migrant workers as some say was done in the Koh Tao case, citing holes in the investigation.

For instance, although police say they found several scars on Moe Zin Aung’s face allegedly made by scratches from the victim, Htoo Chit said that, according to the suspect’s family, the scars were the result of injuries from a bicycle accident a week prior to his detention.

The suspects’ employer has also sought to prove his workers’ innocence, saying the victim was killed around 9 pm on Sept. 28, but that his employees were still working at his fish factory close to the time of the murder, at 8 pm. However, after examining CCTV footage, Ranong police said there was no evidence that the men were at work at that time.

According to a report released by FED at the press conference in Rangoon, the employer said that he was “surprised” that his employees had “disappeared from the CCTV footage” after police took it from him because, he claims, he had seen the four migrants on the footage “with [his] own eyes.”

The four suspects are currently being held in different prisons. FED intends to deliver documents and reports to Thai authorities and to the Myanmar Human Rights Commission, the Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the latter headed by Aung San Suu Kyi.

According to Htoo Chit, who estimates that there are more than 1,000 Burmese migrant workers in Thai prisons, 29 people are willing to testify on behalf of the four suspects.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: A_FactivaDrug & CrimeMigrant Issues
Moe Myint

Moe Myint

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Inspiring Women of Burma  
Burma

Inspiring Women of Burma  

by The Irrawaddy
March 18, 2016
33.5k

The contributions of some of Burma’s leading female figures are highlighted in the final part of a series that ran...

Read moreDetails
Australian-Karen Actress: ‘I Hope Karen People Will Have the Right to Self-Determination’
Asia

Australian-Karen Actress: ‘I Hope Karen People Will Have the Right to Self-Determination’

by Saw Yan Naing
January 18, 2016
13.7k

Tasneem Roc, an Australian actress who also has ethnic Karen roots, speaks with The Irrawaddy about her career and her...

Read moreDetails
Burma’s Media Landscape Through the Years
Burma

Burma’s Media Landscape Through the Years

by The Irrawaddy
May 4, 2016
13.5k

In the wake of World Press Freedom Day, celebrated on Tuesday, The Irrawaddy revisits a history of Burmese media stretching...

Read moreDetails
Burmese Director Explores Same-Sex Relationships in New Film
Burma

Burmese Director Explores Same-Sex Relationships in New Film

by Yu Mon Kyaw
January 28, 2016
8.2k

Entitled ‘Gemini,’ Nyo Min Lwin’s film about romance between two men explores ground seldom trod in Burma’s movie industry.

Read moreDetails
Lucky Numbers in the Quest for Peace
Commentary

Lucky Numbers in the Quest for Peace

by Nyein Nyein
September 10, 2015
8.7k

Burmese generals’ edicts have often been intimately tied to numerology and astrology. Is the peace process similarly tied to superstitious...

Read moreDetails
Chief Ministers of Arakan
Burma

Chief Ministers of Arakan, Karen States Resign to Join USDP

by Kyaw Phyo Tha
August 26, 2015
2k

The chief ministers of two states resign to contest Burma’s upcoming general election, set for Nov. 8, representing the ruling...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Peace Negotiator to Meet NCA Non-Signatories

Peace Negotiator to Meet NCA Non-Signatories

USDP Domestic Squabble Heats Up as Shwe Mann Wins Support

USDP Domestic Squabble Heats Up as Shwe Mann Wins Support

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Trade and Traffic from Thai Border Region Dwindle as Checkpoints Multiply

Trade and Traffic from Thai Border Region Dwindle as Checkpoints Multiply

3 days ago
955
The Lady Myanmar’s Generals Can’t Defeat

The Lady Myanmar’s Generals Can’t Defeat

3 days ago
680

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Moves to Seize Sagaing Roads

    Myanmar Junta Moves to Seize Sagaing Roads

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Certifying a Chinese Security Invasion; Boosting Ties With Nuclear North Korea; and More

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Residents of Myanmar Ruby Hub Speak Out as TNLA Mining Takes Toll

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Changes Election Law Ahead of Polls

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Trade and Traffic from Thai Border Region Dwindle as Checkpoints Multiply

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.