LIES, LIES AND MURDERED FOREIGNERS IN THAILAND

Dear Mayor,  

I see you are upset by British media reports over the death of Christina Annersley on your beautiful island of Koh Tao, another young British tourist who has died of natural causes. Well at least that is what your police said – and so did Christina’s mother initially – but now she is not so sure and and has told the London Evening Standard she wants an independent post mortem in the U.K. 

Christina Annersley

I am angry too. You are concerned about tourism and cash. The relatives of all those Britons and persons of other nationalities who have died on holiday in Thailand do not care about tourism. They care about their loved ones. The British media as a rule cares about what happens to British tourists. 

You have complained to the ‘Khao Sod’ about spurious press claims. There is no such thing as island mafia, you insist. Who exactly are you selling this line too and who is going to believe you? – certainly not the British press. 

Christina’s mother made her initial statement based on information supplied by the Thai authorities, notably island police. Now she is more circumspect.  

Why?  Well I am guessing she has been told Thai police and authority figures such as you are do not have a record of telling the truth. 

Let me tell you of my own experiences as a journalist covering murders and attacks on tourists here in Thailand. Look; here’s a short list, but I could go on forever.

JOANNE MASHEDER RIP

Joanne Masheder, murdered by a monk in Wat Tham Khao Poon , Kanchanaburi, aged 23.

A novice monk was arrested but Joanne was missing for weeks before her body was found in a cave there.  

Before her body was found authorities were putting out a story that they believed that her family was making a false (and thus criminal) insurance claim blaming Thailand for her death. LIES

Vanessa  Arscott, 23, and Adam Lloyd, 24.  Adam Lloyd was gunned down and Vanessa was run over by Police Sergeant Somchai Wisetsingh in his car, before he shot her three times execution style as she hung on to a post by the side of the road. 

Wisetsingh denied the murders right up to the end and escaped the death penalty because he was an ‘exemplary’ policeman. 

Reporters covering his trial were attacked with pepper spray by one of his colleagues and most witnesses were scared to give evidence. He was found guilty on forensic evidence only, and perhaps because the British media gave this case high scrutiny. 

The defence tried to blame an un-named informant of Somchai. Somchai claimed he did not know her. But a picture given to the writer showed he was lying.  LIES and more LIES.

Kirsty Jones, 23:  Raped and murdered in the Aree Guest House, Chiang Mai.  Nobody ever convicted. 

 In terms of lies told by the Thai police and Thai authorities this is something of a classic case. 

 A Thai policeman also issued a statement to say that Kirsty was probably a willing participant until her killer demanded anal sex.

Chiang Mai Police blame assorted foreigners before then kidnapping a Karen hill tribe guide and torturing to extract a confession. 

They even tried to masturbate him to get sperm – Why would they do that?  LIES, LIES AND MORE LIES AND ATTEMPT TO OBSTRUCT JUSTICE.

Katherine Horton, 24, murdered and raped on Lamai Beach, Koh Samui.   

Foreigners were blamed again and taken in for questioning. LIES. 

Then a police ‘dream team’ flew in from Bangkok and arrested two fishermen. 

They were sentenced to death commuted to life in the public outcry.  But to this day there are many local people who believe they were scapegoats.

Leo del Pinto, 23, Shot dead by Police Sergeant Uthai Dechachawit in Pai, Mae Hong Son. 

A massive cover up on this one with local police trying to say Uthai was acting in self defence.   

The DSI had to be called in to prosecute – so obstructive were the local police. 

While on bail Uthai killed his 18-year-old bride of two weeks.

LIES, LIES AND OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE.

Hannah Witheridge and David Miller. Both brutally murdered and Hannah was also raped on Koh Tao – your island. 

Well, where do we begin here Khun Chaiyan? Well let’s start off with the original story. That was that David Miller was killed by a jealous gay lover because he had gone off with a woman.   

Thankfully that was discredited very quickly. But it deteriorated from that moment. Next suspect was one of Miller’s British travelling companions from Jersey. 

But of course by this time the Burmese migrant community were being rigorously and harshly being turned over by local police, er, because a ‘Thai person could not do such a thing.” 

Panya

And then General Panya Mamen, the head of the regional police told Thai PBS on September 23 that the chief suspects were the brother of a local village chief and the son of a village chief. 

He promised that ‘ local mafias’ would have no influence on the police investigation and they would be ‘eliminated’. 

No-one of course was surprised when he was removed from his post and no mafias were elimninated. And of course we had to put up with the ridiculous statement that there were no mafias on Koh Tao, if there were police would know about them. Of course we are not talking about the Cosa Nostra here. We are talking about the money men who have real control, while young tourists truly believe that have hit paradise.  

LIES. LIES AND MORE LIES.

The above are just a few examples. With the exception of Canadian Leo whose case I took up, these are just a few British victims in Thailand. Add other foreigners to this and the number of unprosecuted rapes and attacks not resulting in death and the picture is much more alarming.

Now tell me was General Panya telling the truth or lying Khun Chaiyan.  And who are we, the foreign media, to believe? 

Do you want us to believe there are no mafias down in the Samui Archipelago? 

Do you want us to believe the Thai police do not have a practice of using  scapegoats?

How can be believe the Thai police when they have such an erratic record in regards to the truth? 

If the Thai people do not believe this why do you expect us to?  

Oh, of course, we are stupid.

Meanwhile tourists have been dying on Koh Tao. Where are your words for the families of these people? They do not care how much money people on Koh Tao are going to make next year. At least Koh Tao business people are alive.

WHO IS NEXT?