Britain’s top envoy in Thailand met Thai and Burmese officials in Bangkok yesterday to discuss the investigation into the slayings of two British tourists.
Thai police have charged two migrant workers from Myanmar with the murder of David Miller, 24, and the rape and murder of Hannah Witheridge, 23, after the tourists’ battered bodies were found on the southern island of Koh Tao on Sept. 15.
Police have said the men confessed to the crime and their DNA matched samples taken from Witheridge’s body.
However, unease over the handling of the case has deepened amid reports that the suspects were tortured into confessing — an allegation Thailand has strongly rejected.
British Ambassador Mark Kent told reporters he was meeting with the Thai police, Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials and his Burmese counterpart, without giving further details.
Before the meeting, an official from the Burmese president’s office in Naypyidaw told reporters that he hoped the talks “would help bring a fair and genuine investigation” into the case, which many have accused Thai authorities of mishandling.
“We hope Thai authorities will act with balance and accuracy to prosecute the offenders according to the law and not take action wrongly against those who didn’t commit the crime,” he said, requesting anonymity.
On Monday, the British government summoned Thailand’s top diplomatic representative in London to stress “real concern” about the handling of the investigation. In a statement, British Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire “reiterated that the UK police stood ready to assist with the investigation and subsequent legal process.”
It is unclear whether Thailand has responded to the offer.
The arrests followed intense scrutiny of Thai authorities, who have been accused — in criticism led by the British media — of bungling the investigation in the days after the crime.
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