BANGKOK: Thai police yesterday questioned three Myanmar men over the murder of two British tourists on the southern resort island of Koh Tao, as their bodies were due to arrive in Bangkok for forensic tests.
David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, were found naked and beaten to death early Monday near a beachside bungalow on the island, a diving hot-spot near Koh Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand.
A bloodied hoe was discovered 35 metres from the murder scene.
“Three male Myanmar migrant workers are under police detention for investigation,” southern regional police commander Panya Maman said, without providing any further details.
A second officer said police were not looking for a British man who had travelled with Miller, contrary to UK media reports.
“All of the British nationals are now on their way home,” provincial police chief Kiattipong Khawsamang said, adding they had been “cleared” as suspects.
Neither officer was able to confirm Thai television reports that police had seized an iPhone and blood-stained jeans after raiding rooms used by the Myanmar suspects.
Thai authorities frequently accuse migrants from Myanmar and Cambodia of committing crimes in the kingdom, where they make up a vast, poorly-paid and low-status workforce. AFP
