‘solid’ evidence two myanmar men killed britons on Koh Tao, rules Court of Appeal
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Court of Appeal has upheld the death penalty against two Myanmar
migrant workers for one of the most shocking crimes in Thailand’s
history – the violent murders of two British backpackers on the resort
island of Koh Tao.
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David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, were fatally beaten on the beach on September 15, 2014. Witheridge was also raped.
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The gruesome crime made headlines in Thailand and across the world.
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Police arrested defendant Zaw Lin on Koh Tao – a part of Surat Thani
province – about two weeks after the crime took place. Wai Phyo (Win Zaw
Tun), the second defendant, was later arrested at a pier in Surat Thani
town.
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The two defendants pled innocent and insisted that their
initial confessions had been made under duress. Their legal team also
tried to rebut evidence submitted by the plaintiff.
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The Criminal Court, however, ruled in December 2015 that there was
sufficient evidence against the two migrant workers, convicting and
sentencing them to death.
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After reviewing the evidence, the Court of Appeal concluded the defendants were guilty beyond doubt.
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“All items of evidence offered by the plaintiffs are reasonably linked
and solid. The ruling is not made on any single piece of evidence but as
a whole,” the court said.
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The court dismissed as unreasonable
the defendants’ complaint that investigators had failed to record every
step of the process in gathering evidence. The defendants argued that
police did not have pictures of collecting samples from the female
victim. “It’s not possible to take pictures of every step taken in a
long process,” the court ruled.
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Nakhon Chomphuchat, a lawyer for the defendants, said they would now file a petition the Supreme Court.
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Both defendants are being held at the Bang Kwang Central Prison in Nonthaburi province.
They were informed of the Appeal Court’s ruling on February 23 at
Nonthaburi Provincial Court, while the verdict was read out officially
for the plaintiffs to hear at Samui Provincial Court yesterday, Nakhon
said.
Source: TheNation
Source: TheNation
