Thailand Shows No Mercy to Migrant Workers Who Allegedly Murdered British Tourists

March 2, 2017

Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, who were found guilty for killing David Miller, 24, and the rape and murder of Hannah Witheridge, 23, in Thailand lost the appeal against their death sentences.

The two Myanmar nationals worked at a diving resort in Koh Tao where the bodies of the British tourists’ were found in September 2014.

The migrant workers said they were tortured by Thai police to get them to confess to the killings, according to Daily Mail.

The original conviction in December 2015 drew international attention and sparked widespread protests in their homeland.

Police were accused by the defense of bungling the investigation after detectives were pressured to solve a case that could tarnish the reputation of Thailand’s tourism sector.

Investigators were also accused of mishandling DNA samples collected from cigarette butts, a condom, the bodies of the victims, and key evidence, such as Witheridge’s clothes.

However, a Thai court threw out the defense’s appeal ruling the investigation as “up to standard” while the DNA found at the scene matched Lin and Htun, who is also known as Wai Phyo.

The defense now has 30 days to file a final appeal at the country’s Supreme Court.

“We don’t believe the court can say beyond reasonable doubt that Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were responsible for the events which took place in September 2014,” Andy Hall, a legal advisor to the suspects’ families, told the BBC.

The defense lawyers argued that the DNA from the alleged murder weapon — a garden hoe — did not match samples taken from the men.

Although Thailand has not executed anyone since 2009, there are more than 450 prisoners on death row, according to the Diplomat.

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