KOH TAO – WHAT WILL BRITISH DETECTIVES FACE?

The forthcoming visit of British detectives to Thailand has stirred the imaginations of more than a few – but their visit is unlikely to be the same as the visit to the orient of two US detectives in the film ‘Black Rain’.


The cops played by Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia were chasing an errant Yakuza member, yes I guess they are all errant but this one was not following ‘The Code’, and set Tokyo ablaze in the process.

They were unceremoniously marched off the inquiry at one stage. But all came right in the end as the ‘good Yakuza’ helped them entrap the bad and the New York detectives, one of whom had a dodgy past, blew half of them away before getting their man.

This is however probably not the scenario for the British detectives coming to Thailand, who will arrive in grey flannels, white short sleeved shirts.

The British police are of course, a much more sober lot, who do not talk, unfortunately, in Hollywood sound bites and with no guns down their socks.

They are however coming to Thailand among widespread rumours that ‘mafia’ are behind the killings on Koh Tao.

Truth is stranger than fiction because Thai police deny there are any mafia figures on Koh Tao because, if there were they would have been told.

This will of course be their first starting point after which, they will be royally entertained, offered tourists trips and be asked when they are going home.

Some Embassy staff seem to be great fans of the Thai controlled CSI LA Facebook page which has been addressing the question of the non-existent mafia on Koh Tao, so the Brits may be more persistent, even though the Ambo is on an anti-media jaunt.

Now I apologise for being flippant for a minute because this really is a deadly serious matter. And there is quite frankly no more room for lies or playing around.

What happens is of importance to every parent who has had a son or daughter murdered in Thailand. But quite frankly there is going to be some play acting.

But the whole world will be watching the British detectives and praying they get it right and what they do have on their side, including the British public is the support of a large number of Thai people who too want to know the truth, and apparently a lot of people in the United States too.

The international community and journalists are getting tired of Thailand’s legendary cover ups from bird flu, murder, abuse of migrant labour, to a modern day slave trade in Bangladeshis.

Meanwhile CSI LA continues relentlessly to target a University student in Bangkok as somehow involved in the Koh Tao murder and bit by bit has been picking away at his alibi while mentioning three mysterious men who got off island on a speedboat.

They claim for instance that while he claims he was with his amour in Bangkok, she was waffling away on Facebook in Pattaya  70 miles away (100 on mileage allowance) This young lad faced the press with a lawyer, and even showed CCTV of himself in Bangkok. Of course red herrings abound.

He must have been working overtime to get the alibi package going.

But by then of course General Panya Mamen had announced that the police were looking for two people, one the son of a head man who was in Bangkok.  Not long afterwards General Panya Mamen was removed as Chief of Police Region 8, South Thailand.

One of my favourite pictures however is this of the Bangkok University student.  This guy appears to have the ability to work through closed doors, or is it my imagination.