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| Businessman and local police – by Sean McAnna who thought they were mafia |
The son of a Thai person of influence on the Thai holiday island of Koh Tao has denied he was on the run from Thai police today as Thailand’s military ruler deployed his own team to shake up a murder investigated rife with controversy.
The 22-year-old man told the ‘Kom Chat Leuk’ newspaper that he was in Bangkok to study at university and he had many witnesses and also CCTV to prove where he was at the time Britons Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, were hacked to death on the small island in the Gulf of Thailand.
“I am not afraid,” the 22-year-old said: ‘I have done nothing wrong.”
His statement came after more claims made by police were reported in the Thai and foreign press promising police would solve the case within 48 hours and announcing they were looking for the son of a village head man who had gone to Bangkok.
Meanwhile Thai Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-Ocha says he has ordered a crackdown on ‘influential rackets’ and ‘illegitimate businesses’ on Koh Tao. His men were there already and he was sending down a team of his own, he said.
‘Assigning soldiers might seem a bit draconian,” he told the Nation newspaper in Bangkok, ‘But this is the right time now.”
Commenting on reports that Koh Tao was ruled by mafia families with intimidatory tactics and violence, Bangkok’s Deputy Police Chief Somyot Pumpanmuang however said there were ‘definitely no such influential groups.”
This however flies in the face of island tradition. A New Zealand long stay resident on Koh Tao, who has now left, has gone on the net to give a potted history of the island’s violent incidents.
However ‘Mike E’ said the island was comparatively safe because the island’s strongmen, not police made it that way. The police’s main occupation was to collect money from drugs and motor-bike rental scams. They rarely arrested people as it was better and easier to get the cash from tourists.
The island strongmen did however feud among each other and in 2002 Virat Asavachin, 42, chairman of Koh Tao’s Administrative Association, was shot six times near Sairee Beach by a lone gunman in a woolen balaclava. Nobody was convicted of his murder.
And the Thai owner of the Ban Diving Resort was taken out by the mafia, or at least what the western owner Terry said was the mafia, On an English language forum he wrote:
“I was the original partner and split from him (Dan his Thai partner) to start up ” master divers ” with my canadian partner.
Ban had nothing and we put up the start up capital and his gig was being the Thai partner.
He got very successful and became an extremely wealthy man but unfortunatly the power went to his head.
He pissed of the wrong punters and the thai mafia did the rest.
His wife and her sister are now proud owners of a multi million dollar operation and he’s still in the freezer waiting to be cremated.
They wont burn him until they catch the shooter and its been 6 years now”.
Referring to Sean McAnna, from Shotts, Lanarkshire, who fled the AC bar on Sairee Beach fearing he would be lynched Mike E says: “I think had Sean not made his outburst that he probably would have ended up either dead, or blamed for the whole situation. I have absolutely zero faith in the Thai justice system or any island police officers ability to do their job.”
The Bangkok Post is today reporting that police were at Lotus Bar where ‘Mr. McAnna was allegedly seen asking some staff to help wipe bloodstains off his body before he fled the island’. There may be nothing significant in this.
Police have already interviewed the foreigners, and Burmese immigrants and failed to find the culprits. As has become quite clear they have left all the Thai businessmen, bar and resort owners, to the end.
"I have absolutely zero faith in the Thai justice system or any island police officers ability to do their job.”
Who would? After what we've seen over the years.
Yesterday I sent a picture to Andrew my Thai niece posted on facebook which was a collage of pictures of 'Moo Ham', the 'Red Bull Ferrari driver' and the young girl who killed 9 people on the express way whilst driving unlicensed. There was another guy whose case I was unfamiliar with. The photo had a big red button on each of them saying รอดคุก or 'survived' not going to jail.
Then we have the cases of Kumnan Poh, Maleenont and Avasahame, all big faces who were all convicted and sentenced but have 'disappeared' overseas. Like Kumnan Poh I bet they are all safely sleeping in their own beds in their own homes knowing the police won't dare arrest them.
Then we have the many murders where the cases just disappear. Two recent ones were the case of where the politician followed his rival politician into a service station toilet. He emptied his glock into the guy, refused to surrender or even hand over the gun for tests. This case has disappeared. I don't think this guy was even arrested.
Then there was the case of the murdered journalist on Phuket. They caught the lackey gunmen but the mastermind, a Phuket cable TV owner, arranged his own surrender at his leisure. His case has also vanished off the radar. There are dozens of cases like this that just get compensated away.
Just about every case that involves a rich or influential person either vanishes, gets delayed forever or has the person walking free on appeal years later when the case has gone stale. Just who would have faith in a system like this? The jails are full of poor people, scapegoats and paid lackeys. The masterminds behind the crimes and killings never face justice.
A total disgrace on their part.
A SHAMBLES!!!
Such a shame these two innocent kids had to go through this act of inhuman barbaric act.
Someone best get charged for this
Utter disgrace their system
Such a shame for those kids.
No one should have to suffer like they did
Indeed, Weapon, indeed. But when they were setting up that poor lad, Ware, what was the response from the British embassy? " We do not get involved in local police investigation " is the line unless of course when it concerns a Brit exposing Thai exploitation and then, of course, the ambassador is only too happy to assist the Thai police in their " due process ". In this snake pit of a country one needs all the help one can get but do not think for one moment the British embassy will do anything worth a fig.
Thai Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-Ocha says he has ordered a crackdown on ‘influential rackets’ and ‘illegitimate businesses’ on Koh Tao….Errrr when's he going to have a crack at lawless Pattaya and the out of control bands of frauds, child abusers, rapists, murders and scum?
Are you aware of what he has done? Key people moved out in government, military, police and administration positions. Top execs of private companies removed from positions of decision making and now monitored more closely. Thai Airways. Legal execution. Governorships. Still much to do of course but more has been done than previously
It's sad it took a coup to do this and the difficulty for the future maybe another coup and a return to previous coup tactics.
The web sites taken down, incl Mail on Sunday but not the other UK rags, had only themselves to blame.for making unsourced inaccurate and flaming material. Facebook users experienced a shot across the bows when that site was suspended ( a technical hitch was claimed but if you believe that you'll believe anything) I can see, regrettably, more censorship if irresponsible comment continues and I suspect those comments are being allowed currently but will then provide an excuse for closure.
The dj and his friends= FB post
Prem Junleiam
September 19 at 3:40am ·
Sosad
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9 people like this.
Sun Thampachana Me to fucking so sad bro.
September 19 at 3:59am · Like
Babette Juul why you guys sad?
September 19 at 4:04am · Like
Sun Thampachana No pussy
September 19 at 4:07am · Like · 1
You evert check out the pictures from the ac-bar gang ( all the people around)… Weapons etc… Amazing when you surf around this gang and what u find.. It's worth a story…
Sean MCAnna just deleted his facebook profile. I wonder why?