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DEFENDANTS IN KOH TAO MURDER CASE DID NOT ENJOY FULL RIGHTS TO A PUBLIC HEARING

April 4, 2016, 3:07 am
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JOURNALISTS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO TAKE FULL NOTES - Solicitors International

A report by Solicitors International Human Rights Group has quietly condemned Thailand’s justice system after monitoring the trial of Burmese Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo for the murder of Briton David Miller and murder and rape of Hannah Witheridge.




Couched in polite terms the group calls on the authorities to allow the media to take notes and provide contemporaneous coverage of court cases, calls for better training of lawyers, asks for proper state aid for defendants, and an overhaul of the criminal code in relation to disclosure.

As the journalists were not allowed to take notes the defendants full rights to a public hearing were not complied with.

It also recommends an overhaul of procedures at police stations, a requirement that judges confirm the burden of standard of proof in each case, a review of the documenting of exhibits, a review of the standard of analysis and reporting in DNA cases, training and retraining of advocates, as well of course as the abolition of the death penalty.



This would appear to conflict with a statement in which they also said that the defendants rights to an impartial tribunal were complied with. (But see letter below).

But in short we can now discard the claim by Thailand’s police chief that Thailand’s police officers read from the same books as Scotland Yard, and we can assume that the Thai justice system is significantly flawed in the Koh Tao case and that the judges have not given a proper account explaining the burden of proof in their decision to condemn the two Burmese.

I could have added also the recommendation that a verbatim transcript must be taken in ALL court proceedings, that laws making judges infallible be revoked and criticism of judges’ decisions be allowed; and that the assumption of innocence also be applied.

I could further add that Royal Thai Police also be held to their promises to abolish crime re-enactments, and that the court system to be amended to allow continuous trials (ie day after day) rather than sitting one day a month or two in each case. This was promised but abandoned in all but high profile cases, or ones receiving international attention. Justice delayed is of course, justice denied.

The SIHRG recommendations are as follows – but you can read their full report at this link – which also includes the judgement.





Recommendations:1. An overhaul of the procedures for providing independent legal advice at policestations. There should be funding for the training of lawyers to carry out the role ofclient centred legal advisers to detainees at police stations. Also funding for lawyers tocarry out this role. 
2. We recommend that the Thailand Government institute an accessible system of Stateaid for the defence of serious cases where the liberty or life of the accused is atjeopardy and the accused does not have the means to meet the costs of his or her owndefence. 
3. An overhaul of the criminal code in relation to the prosecution duty to discloseevidence it relies on and disclosure of evidence in its possession that may assist thedefence. 
4. A requirement for all judgements in criminal cases to confirm the burden andstandard of proof the Court is applying. 
5. A review of procedures concerning the documentation of the movement of all exhibitsin a criminal enquiry. 
6. A review should take place with world experts on the current standards of analysisand reporting in DNA cases with a view to producing guidelines for all expertsworking for the criminal justice system in Thailand. The Appeal Court could receiveinternational expert assistance and issue guidelines. 
7. Training and regular retraining in trial advocacy for Thai lawyers should beimplemented by the responsible bodies. 
8. We recommend an amendment to the Criminal Code permitting bona fide journalists,legal commentators and international observers the right to take contemporaneousnotes of court hearings in Thailand. This is consistent with the requirement for “openjustice”. 
9. We recommend that a reasonable limit to the length of a day’s hearing in trials beprovided for in the Criminal Code of Thailand. 
10. We recommend the abolition of the death penalty. Even if the trial process is upheldon appeal and putting to one side whether the Defendants were correctly convicted,this is the sort of contested case where new evidence can arise and point away fromguilt. Future corrections or exonerations are meaningless if the accused are dead.
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APPEAL COURT CONFIRMS EXTORTION CONVICTION FOR 'ADVISER TO MAYOR' OF THAI SEX RESORT

April 7, 2016, 6:21 am
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BUT DREW NOYES CONVICTION OFFERS SCANT HOPE FOR FOREIGNERS CHEATED IN PATTAYA

The Thai Appeal Court today confirmed the conviction of Drew Noyes – a fake lawyer and self-appointed foreign adviser to the Mayor of the Thai sex tourism resort of Pattaya on a charge of extortion.


The 60-year-old from Wilmington, North Carolina, failed to turn up for the hearing as he had promised – but this was also expected.

Arrest warrants had been issued for him and his alleged partner in crime Wanrapa Boonsu. But the Appeal court dismissed the case against her.

Both the prosecutor and victim Michael Goulet co-owner of the Thonglor Clinic in Jomtien immediately announced they were appealing the appeal court’s verdict against Wanrapa Boonsu and sentence against Noyes of 2 years jail reduced by the appeal court to 16 months.




Police had witnessed a phone call from Wanrapa Boonsu demanding that Goulet pay up or she could not stop a police raid on his premises.

Noyes and Boonsu, 39, were accused of attempting to extort 7 million Thai baht (US$198,984) Thai out of Goulet and his partner or their business would be raided, illegal substances would be found and the clinic would face damning publicity in their newspaper the Pattaya Times.


From North Carolina Noyes’ continues to advertise his legal expertise and services to customers in Pattaya through his One Stop Service Center in Pattaya.

He was accused by customers who complained to this site that he had cheated them by putting their property in his name, screwed up divorce settlements, defrauded them in illegal fees, banked divorce settlements in his own account, employed illegal Filipina labour and sexually abused them, and sold phony shares in his newspaper.

But prior to arriving in Thailand he had been exposed in the Star newspaper in Wilmington, North Carolina, of creating a biography which was a ‘myriad of lies’, sexual harassment by demanding oral sex from a female employee for extra hours, and share and property fraud.


Since the military take-over Noyes has been promoting himself more than ever as an ardent royalist and devotee of Thaland’s ailing King Bhumipol Adulyadej.

Currently Thailand’s military government have been reported to have ordered Pattaya City Council to step down on June 16th when a council of members elected by the military will take over the role of governing the wayward resort – the scene of multiple uninvestigated property frauds committed against foreigners tempted by condo deals in the resort.


Drew Noyes had taken multiple SLAP cases against the owner of this site. Those cases have been brought to an end by the Appeal Court decision. Similarly cases brought by Scot Brian Goudie, 49,born Brian Goldie in Falkirk, who was also exposed on this site as a fake lawyer, have also come to an end.

Goudie is currently on the run. He has been convicted of fraud and embezzlement and an arrest warrant has been issued for his arrest,
The author, Andrew Drummond, left Thailand last year, not as a result of the SLAP cases but as a result of threats from Bangkok boiler room fraudsters who had been laundering money through banks in Hong Kong, the British Virgin Islands and Panama.



Drew Walter Noyes – The Real Bio

Drew Walter Noyes quietly slipped in to Thailand after being exposed in 1995 by Scott Gold in the Wilmington Morning Star, as it was then known, in North Carolina, under the headline Trouble Follows Developer. He remained quiet for two years running beers bars called the Zebra and Lollipop making his money out of Thai prostitutes and selling booze to tourists. He had a ‘short time room’ attached to one of his bars.

It was while being accused of being cheated by a Briton who had bought one of his bars that he first threatened to sue for libel and the purchaser fled.



From the Pattaya Mail
He then helped form the Pattaya City Expats Club where he announced that he had been invited by Royal Proclamation to help out the country during the financial crisis of the late 90s. He claimed he worked for the Bank of Thailand, and a lavish self-written biography started appearing all over the net. 
One of the most comprehensive was on the Naymz site. By this time he had married an illiterate bar girl called Nittaya Chaiyasit.





He also announced that he was a lawyer and owner of the law firm PAPPA which was not registered as a law firm but as accountancy. 

He then made cash by convincing foreigners he was ‘ the most credible re-assuring American professional in Thailand’ to part with their cash for his services in court cases, buying houses, and divorce settlements. Soon many were complaining.


Colov with Noyes behind
He set up the Pattaya Times newspaper in opposition to Niels Colov, the former Copenhagen pimp and gangster, and head of the Pattaya Police Foreign Volunteers, who was also using his Pattaya People newspaper and an expats club to bring business his way.

Both men had promoted a ‘We Love Pattaya’ and ‘We Love the Thai People ‘ rhetoric to convince the authorities they were kosher and offered the authorities as much space as they wanted in their newspapers for PR purposes.



Both had a public fall out accusing each other in their newspapers of fraud and beating their wives but the row was becoming self-defeating and they agreed to a peace, allowing each other to continue with their various cons. These were mainly connected with property deals.


But Noyes came to our attention when his name came to light as the man representing American porno film makers who were being arrested in Thailand for cheating bar girls – and of course making illegal (in Thailand) porno movies, with the endless supply of naïve country girls available for US$50 a pop.


Tony Power at his arrest - but the case like all other arrests of pornographers disappeared from the system

One such pornographer Tony Poer faced demand in excess of US$200,000 from Noyes for charges to be dropped. He went direct to police and managed a deal at 1/10th of that price.

We also caught Noyes attempting to buy a home from a British pensioner after putting the news in his newspaper that the Thai government would confiscate properties held by foreigners in dormant company names.




The Thai authorities did not care about Noyes activities and he continued to befriend local politicians, police, and immigration authorities writing eulogies about them in his newspapers.


Noyes and Brian Wright trawled bars together
He started a Pattaya Branch of Optimists International and its founding members included now convicted paedophile Brian Wright, from Rhode Island, and three American and one British boiler room operators from Bangkok. Optimists of course are dedicated to helping children.



By this time complaints were flowing in about his cons at Pappa Law, which with Wanrapa Boonsu, he morphed into the One Stop (Legal) Service Centre also with the website pattaylawyers.com.

But Noyes struck back threatening all and sundry under Thailand’s libel and Computer Crime Act laws and using his newspaper to expose his enemies. One such person a producer of children’s films in Holland he described as a ‘porno film maker’….and so it went on.
Noyes and  Wanrapa Dining with Pattaya judges

He even held a Legal seminar in Pattaya with the judges of the Pattaya court and recruited the local court interpreter as one of his aides. He dined out with judges and of course eulogized their work.
Most people in Pattaya knew what he was – but they were scared of saying anything for fear they might be his next target.

It was his arrest in March 2012 that was his final undoing. But it has taken four years to bring him to justice of sorts. 

As soon as he started demanding cash from Thonglor Clinic Dr. Michael Goulet called in his Thai partner who called in local police. A sting was set up and Noyes and Wanrapa were recorded as they made their threats. However when it came to the time to pick up the first instalment of cash at the News Restaurant in Pattaya, Wanrapa was not there. And this may account as to why she wriggled off the charge.



Noyes claimed he was a victim of a conspiracy. Then he claimed that the money was for advertising in the Pattaya Times. Goulet had no intention of publishing a newspaper which had no distribution and of which copies could only be found at city hall or the local immigration office.


Hanks - facelift
Goulet told the court that Scot David John Hanks, 67. from Girvan, was also part of the conspiracy. The former owner of Masquerades Brothel in Melbourne had turned up at his clinic a week before the extortion attempt for a face lift.

Afterwards he told Goulet that he was connected to the Chinese mafia and his boss Noyes wanted to see him about conducting business in Pattaya.

Noyes quit Thailand while on bail taking with him five children of ten he had fathered in Thailand. He took three children from his first Thai wife Nittaya, two out of three children by Wanrapa, but left the womemn one child each. He also left two children, one born to a member of staff at One Stop Service Center, one one reported to be by the niece of his wife Nittaya.  Last month he announced the birth of another child by his former nanny.

The Noyes story is just another story of a con man in Pattaya. It is more damning for the Thai authorities in this mafia run resort who have made it clear they offer no protection to tourists and foreign expats in the sleazy resort..
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EDITOR QUITS THAILAND TO CAMPAIGN 'FOR INNOCENT' BURMESE IN KOH TAO MURDERS

April 9, 2016, 12:16 am
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'I KNOW I WILL DIE TRYING'

The publisher and editor of the Samui Times online newspaper has returned to Britain after being troubled by the trial and guilty verdict against the two young Burmese Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin for the murders of Britons Hannah Witheridge and David Miller.


Suzanne Buchanan was reported to be unhappy not only with the verdict but the conduct of the trial. She had previously married into a Thai family connected to what have been described in the media as the Koh Tao mafia.

Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were arrested but not before the Regional Police Chief Panya Mamen  announced that the killers were connected to island families. The General was subsequently removed from his post.

Prior to boarding a flight back to the UK Ms Buchanan had visited the two young Burmese in ‘Bangkwang Prison’ – the ‘Big Tiger’.
She reported on Facebook:
 “Totally and utterly amazing to see the boys and let them know the fight for justice will continue from the safety of the UK - time to kick arse and get my boys out of hell. Zaw Lin told me ‘we will fly free together like birds’ - I know I will die trying to make that wish come true.”


From her home by the River Thames, near Marlow, Bucks, she said it was premature at this stage to state what form the action would take.


She has support from the expat community on the Thai island.

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CONDO SCAMMERS IN THAILAND LEGALLY FORBID VICTMS FROM REVEALING THEIR LIES

April 10, 2016, 12:31 am
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AND THEY CAN'T GO TO COURT IF THEY ARE SCAMMED! 

Silver
They are at it again - the outrageous duo American Richard Ian Silver and his former Thai mistress Imorn Leukhamkarn the purveyors of mostly imaginary condominiums in Thailand’s mafia controlled eastern seaboard.

Having taken cash on three condominium projects – Bang Saray Beach, Bang Saray Ocean View and Abatalay- they are now telling scammed foreigners they might be in with a chance of a unit at a project they have actually built, even though it’s nowhere near the specifications in their glossy ads.


Imorn
Property fraud in Pattaya and its environs has now become so outrageous without any action from the authorities of the local consumer affairs department that one could almost conclude that the authorities too are on the make.

The latest scam is a classic.

American Richard Ian Silver, who has the same name and same age as a man wanted in two US states for property fraud, and who ran off with 120 million baht in deposit from a previous off-plan project Royal View Talay, and Imorn have now devised a damage limitation exercise so childish in its nature that it almost defies belief.



However it clearly an attempt to split the hundreds of unhappy Brits, Chinese, Russian, Europeans and Australians who have paid cash for one of their condos, to their extreme regret.

Here’s a recap. Having swindled investors in the non-existent Royal View Talay. Richard Silver together with Imorn then put together packages offering cheap condos to foreigners called Bang Saray Beach, Abatalay, Bang Saray Ocean View and Bang Saray Bay View.



Bang Saray Ocean View has not been started and was due to be completed a year ago. Abatalay was due for completion two years ago but Silver and Leukhamkarn do not even own the land and cannot now buy it.

Bayview is also nothing more than a pipe dream.

The only one completed, which came in a year late without the promised swimming pool, self-generating solar powered electricity, and state of the art water recycling system, and with just a dozen parking spaces for 200 units in the back of beyond, was Bang Saray Beach.

Now people who put cash in to Ocean View (which is clearly not being built) are being offered a deal at Bang Saray Beach Condo. They can switch their money there, they have been told.

This is a bit odd because the bosses of CW Assets had announced a sell-out of this project a long time ago. How many times are they planning to sell it?

Their offer is simply quite amazing. But buyers of Ocean View are only offered the chance to put a down payment on a unit and if they do and there is a dispute the victim cannot take CW Assets to court but have to go to arbitration – and the person initiating the arbitration will have to pay the crippling costs – which would of course exceed the cost of the unit.






Not only that but the buyers under Clause 2 are forbidden to reveal to anybody the contents of any documents, emails, conversations verbal or otherwise, and details of contracts to any third person for 20 years.

Put it another way. 


We will lie and cheat and promise you the earth and take your cash. But you won’t get anything and you cannot tell anyone about our scamming. Oh and if you do not get a condo you’ll have to pay more than the condo is worth to sue us. And you can’t use our lies as part of your case.
But what’s the bet somebody signs one of these agreements thinking they’ve pipped the 200 other disgruntled clients at the post. It’s happened before.
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IS THAILAND'S POLICE LABORATORY A CRIMINAL ORGANISATION?

April 11, 2016, 1:07 am
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MORE ASSESSMENT OF THE KOH TAO MURDER CASE  FROM LAWYER IAN YARWOOD AND A SPANNER IN THE WORKS FROM ANDREW DRUMMOND


Thai prosecutors cannot be trusted to tell the truth. But if that is not so startling actions coming shortly could bring into question the credibility of not only the prosecutors, but also judges and defence lawyers in the Koh Tao murder case.



In fact the credibility of everyone including Scotland Yard and the British Foreign and Commonwealth could be up for grabs.

Below Australian lawyer Ian Yarwood has provided another personal assessment in relation to the conduct of the trial of Burmse Zaw Win and Wai Phyo for the murders of Britons Hannah Witheridge and David Miller.

In his piece he comes to the conclusion that not only can Thai prosecutors not be trusted to tell the truth and not provide false evidence and present deliberately erroneous statements as fact, but even defence lawyers will instruct their clients to lie to the court.

He also questions the abilities of the Thai judges and in particular in Koh Samui citing the Jack Hansen-Bartel case. (search this site).
***************************************
COMMENT: Well I can certainly testify to all that.

When I was accused of libeling David John Hanks, a former Melbourne brothel owner by allowing to a poster to call him a pimp my Thai lawyer insisted that I say I was not responsible for monitoring all the posts and in particular this one.

David Hanks
I refused. Although I have had help on the this site, The buck stops me me. Besides I had documentary evidence that Hanks was indeed a pimp from both the Victoria government which issued the licence for him to operate,  (Brothels are legal in some states of Australia) and also the Australian Securities and Exchange Commission records also showed he owned the Masquerades brothel in Keysborough in the suburbs of Melbourne. Adverts showed the place specialised in 'Asian Hotties', a Thai prostitute had been up before the Australian Administrative Appeals Tribunal for falsifying her visa statement.

And when it came to court and confronted with the documents Hanks admitted them, but said the place was run by Chinese and the girls were looked after very well.

It was neither here whether the girls were look after well or not. While many pimps beat their girls the simple definition of a pimp is simply a 

A person who controls prostitutes and arranges clients for them, taking a percentage of their earnings in return. Oxford Dictionary.


Noyes
And under Victoria State law the licencee is the man who runs the brothel.  Game set and match?   No I was convicted then the conviction was upheld at the appeal court.  It was the only case I lost against assorted Pattaya con men in the latest genre of Computer Crime Act cases. Mind you the translator in the case also turned out to be on the payroll of the plaintiffs!


My lawyer had not let me see her appeal and I still have not until this day. So I assume she was claiming I was denying responsibility for the post on my site, not that the allegation was true and in ther public interest.

The same lawyer also pocketed the cash I paid to counter sue Hanks' co-plaintiff, the now convicted extortionist Drew Noyes.

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But back to the Burmese. I do know that if  the Thai courts kept verbatim records of what is said in court - not just what the judges chose to write down, there might be a better possibility of justice in the Thai courts.

The case against Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin of course has gone much the same way.  The judges have assumed uncorroborated statements as fact - even some downright lies. It's been child's play as is evident from Ian Yarwood's assertions.

But there is a much bigger tiger in the cupboard and, as Yardwood states, more cockroaches in the shadows.


In Thailand police traditionally get their evidence from confessions. 

Forensics are for show. They are rarely up to any international standard at all. 

In short there is ample to suggest they often make it up. 

When breakthroughs came through in DNA profiling the Thai police automatically used it in prosecutions because of its near conclusive findings.

This to them was the one new thing which could as effective as a good beating and a threat to put victims in a bag weighed down by stones to send them to the bottom of the ocean.  And in the Thai justice system it seems to have become just that. Nobody understands it. And in his case apparently not even the defence team.

DNA findings are only nearly conclusive in the hands of people who know who to properly work with DNA and present its findings. 

Its less than useless if they do not. There is little evidence to suggest judges in Thailand know how to deal with DNA and where the dangers are. 

They have no way of telling if statements to them are fact. In short they are like children going for the brightest primary colour or in some cases of being obedient if someone gives them a sweet. 

And this is not just at the lower level of the judicial system. Scotland Yard and the Foreign and Commonwealth office have a lot to answer for in allowing and issuing statements supportive of the Thai murder enquiry. 

The Metropolitan Police were scared of the 'chilling effect' - the loss of co-operation with the Thai Police. That is why they objected to a defence legal submission that the MPS reveal its notes. 

But then again for the last 50 years the Thai police have in reality been a mafia organisation.  The genuine arrests they make have always been supplementary to their cash gathering and saving national face.

The long standing questions which need to be answered are - Why is forensic analysis not conducted by an impartial authority outside the police.

The new question is: 'Is the National Police Forensic Laboratory a criminal organisation?'

And that may be put to the test.  We'll keep you informed.





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By Ian Yarwood

NO EVIDENCE UPON WHICH TO CONVICT BURMESE OF DEFENDED CHARGES IN KOH TAO MURDER TRIAL

BACKGROUND

On 15 September 2014, two young British backpackers, David Miller (24) and Hannah Witheridge (23) were murdered on the Thai island of Koh Tao.  Subsequently, two Burmese migrant workers, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were charged with a variety of offences including murder, rape, the theft of David’s sunglasses and mobile phone as well as offences under the Immigration Act.




A trial was conducted in the Samui Provincial Court over 18 sitting days of three equal parts between July and October 2015 and the verdict was delivered on 24 December 2015.  

Zaw Lin was acquitted of the Immigration Act charges.  Wai Phyo had pleaded guilty to entering the Kingdom illegally and of living in the Kingdom illegally and was convicted of those offences.  The defendants were acquitted of stealing David’s sunglasses as the court found there was no evidence that they had taken the sunglasses.  

None of the statements of fact referred to above are controversial. 




The issues that are controversial are whether or not there was any reliable evidence whatsoever in the trial to support convictions on the charges of murder, rape and the theft of David’s mobile phone. 

These are the controversial charges I refer to in the headline as “defended charges”.


BUNGLED POLICE INVESTIGATION & TORTURE ALLEGATIONS

The foreign media in particular had been critical of the police investigation from the very beginning even before the world had learned of the defendants, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo.  There were valid allegations of police bungling including their failure to secure the crime scene and of allowing pictures of the crime scene to be taken and posted on the internet.  Just as alarming were the many credible reports that Thai police were torturing Burmese workers on the island.  

In March 2016 the 46 minute documentary “Murder in Paradise” was released which featured images of injuries that Burmese workers claimed had been inflicted upon them by Thai police during torture.  The most serious allegation was that of scalding with boiling water. 

http://video.toggle.sg/en/series/undercover-asia-s3/ep7/377702

Images of injuries due to alleged torture in the documentary were provided by the Human Rights and Development Foundation.

In the circumstances, many expats and locals familiar with the ways of the Thai police were claiming on social media and elsewhere that the Thai police would be on the lookout for Burmese scapegoats to take the blame for the murders.  Indeed, shortly after Police Lt General Panya Mamen (Chief of Provincial Police Region 8) stated that there would be no scapegoats he was promptly replaced for that most serious of transgressions.


ABSURD REENACTMENT WITH NO PROBATIVE VALUE

In October 2014 shortly after their arrest, interrogation and alleged torture the defendants were forced to take part in a very public “reenactment” of the crimes.  The defendants were told not to speak to the media.  It was clear that the police were the directors and in charge of this charade.  The police wrote the script and were telling the story, not the defendants.  The defendants were merely reading their proverbial lines under duress.

The Thai practice of conducting public “reenactments” of crimes has been widely condemned.  They have no probative value and undermine an accused person’s right to a presumption of innocence.



To follow is a link to a recent excellent article on some of the shortcomings of these public reenactments. http://www.inspirepattaya.com/lifestyle/reenactment-guilt-thai-face-crime-punishment-society/#.VwDgbIC4nbw.facebook


POLICE HIGH WATER MARK – CONFESSIONS, DNA & PHONE

There was always tremendous scepticism that Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin were the true killers.  Standing at only 145cm and 150cm respectively they would have been dwarfed by David Miller at 190 cm.  They had no criminal records and as noted the expats and locals were expecting the Thai police to be searching for scapegoats.

However, at the time of the reenactments in October 2014 the police had a degree of confidence as they asserted that they had: 
confessions from both accused (which the accused later alleged were extracted under torture);DNA matches for both accused; and
David’s smashed mobile phone, which phone was allegedly taken from David’s body by Wai Phyo then given to his friend Ren Ren. 
It is also common knowledge and uncontested that Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin had been playing guitar on the relevant beach on the morning of the murders.  

That circumstantial evidence is relatively weak though as there were hundreds of people who could have been at the location the bodies were found and/or at the crime scene(s) that morning.

The three assertions referred to above supported each other.  I consider it appropriate to refer them as mere assertions rather than give them the respect of being called evidence.  Nevertheless, if the police considered them as evidence then they could take comfort as each piece of evidence supported the others.

The police conveniently glossed over several inconvenient issues.  
Hair of a blonde appearance had been found in Hannah’s hand.  Neither of the defendants had blonde hair that morning.  It seems that Wai Pho might sometimes dye his hair but on the morning of the murders his hair was black.  That was glossed over.





A garden hoe was identified as THE murder weapon but it seemed clear from an inspection of photographs of David’s face, neck and left collar bone that he had also been stabbed by a sharp blade such as a punch knife.  The police did not recover any punch knives or other blades so it would appear they did not have all the murder weapons.  Indeed, the police had no evidence that the defendants ever had punch knives or other blades in their possession. That was glossed over.

In the days following the murders the police made a big point of taking people’s footprints.  I wrote about this in an article on the footprints published by journalist, Andrew Drummond and ThailandJustice.

The police did not match the defendants’ footprints with any found in the immediate vicinity where the bodies were found.  Therefore, the police had no physical evidence to put the defendants in the immediate vicinity of the bodies.




Even though I have less than 1800 followers on Twitter I did acquire some dedicated trolls who, combined with some visceral personal attacks, sought to discredit the article by saying that the tide had washed away footprints and that indeed Hannah’s left foot was submerged by sand.  

My answers are that obviously some footprints were washed away by the waves and tide but not all the footprints.  There was a tide that morning but no tsunami.  Indeed, in September 2014 the police were going to great efforts to check footprints they found against those of inhabitants of the island.  The commentator in the “Murder in Paradise” documentary (link above) made the following sobering comment of the scene: “Blood is mixed with sand”. 

The absence of the defendants’ footprints near the bodies was glossed over.

The absence of signs of injuries to the defendants on the morning of the murders was glossed over.

The defendants’ good character and lack of criminal records were all glossed over.


Andy Hall
Subsequently Andy Hall and some Thai lawyers obtained access to the defendants who duly instructed them that they had not 
committed murder or rape.  

After taking advice from those lawyers the defendants recanted their confessions and accused the police of extracting the confessions under torture.

There are credible reports of the widespread use of torture by the Thai military and by the Thai police.  Indeed, as noted above there were credible reports in September 2014 of the Thai police torturing Burmese workers on Koh Tao apparently in attempts to obtain information and/or confessions.  

Even at the trial a prosecution witness gave evidence that he saw signs of injuries to one of the defendants immediately after an interrogation.  

This was not recorded in the court’s judgment. 

Following the withdrawal of the confessions the police and prosecutor had only two assertions with which to proceed.  There was the important assertion that semen samples had been recovered from Hannah’s body that matched both defendants.  There was also a much less important assertion that a mobile phone that Wai Phyo admitted to picking up from Sairee Beach had belonged to David Miller.  

The police had made another assertion too, namely that the poor quality “running man” images captured on CCTV were those of Wai Phyo.  The police made no effort to prove that assertion other than by a further assertion that Wai Phyo looked similar.  In my opinion, Wai Phyo does look vaguely similar to “running man” although some people have said that an earlier police suspect Nomsod looks more similar to “running man” when one compares their arm movements in the following youtube clip 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NvlREPt2CI

It was the DNA “evidence” (or assertions) alone that led to the defendants’ convictions.  With all due respect to the court, the DNA “evidence” presented by the prosecution should have been ruled as inadmissible.  I touched upon some of the reasons in the following article.  

http://thailandjustice.com/insights-into-the-murders-of-british-backpackers-on-koh-tao/  

The many defects in the DNA “evidence” are to be the main focus of the appeal.  Those defects include: the apparent lack of original semen samples (merely “amplified” DNA of unknown origin); lack of chain of custody documents; lack of notes; lack of statistical analysis; and a lack of reasoning (including assumptions) upon which the prosecution witnesses’ opinions were based.

I will not discuss the DNA “evidence” any further at present but towards the end of this article I shall discuss the assertions and evidence surrounding David’s mobile phone and the mobile phone that Wai Phyo said he found on Sairee beach.


TRIAL DID NOT SHED MUCH LIGHT ON ANYTHING

Most observers were left to form opinions that the trial did not get to the bottom of anything.  

The police, the prosecutor and the defence team all failed to shed much light on the events surrounding the murders.  There were gasps of disbelief in the courtroom when a police officer revealed that he did not bother to check the CCTV cameras that would have shown who left the island via the jetty on the morning of the murders.  

Members of the international media had flown to Koh Samui to hear what international DNA expert Jane Taupin had to say about the police DNA “evidence” but were left bewildered when the defence team erred by failing to call her.  Court observers including the media noted a distinct failure of the defence team to thoroughly cross-examine prosecution witnesses. 

Both the police and the defence team’s unofficial spokesperson, British human rights activist Andy Hall had been making many statements to the media outside court but not much happened inside the courtroom.  

Arguably, it was to Andy’s credit that at least he was raising issues with the media but what was really required was for the defence team to raise those issues in the court.  The defence team did enough to win but they would have increased the defendants’ chances of acquittal substantially had they called Jane Taupin.  

In addition, her evidence would probably have proved to be most enlightening in a trial that otherwise shed little light on the crimes.


MAKING SENSE OF THE TRIAL AND VERDICT

It is easy to see how casual observers from afar could become confused by the conduct and outcome of the trial.  Indeed, many people who followed the trial closely also became confused with some aspects of the conduct of the trial.

In my view, in trying to understand the trial it helps enormously if one has the benefit of knowing something about how Thailand and its police and justice system operate.

There is a wealth of information on ThailandJustice.com , the “Murder in Paradise” documentary, a video by “Anonymous”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRi8AqoXxio , Time Magazine http://time.com/3955081/thailand-koh-tao-murder-david-miller-hannah-witheridge-zaw-lin-wai-phyo-burma-myanmar/ as well as youtube ie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib-iWtN4KpI&nohtml5=False

There are many valuable contributions made on fora such as ThaiVisaForum.com too but unfortunately discussions on TVF have often been derailed by trolls who appear focused on writing nasty, misleading and deceptive comments. 

An excellent source of information on murders, scams, trials, police and corruption in Thailand are the websites run by Andrew Drummond: andrew-drummond.com and andrew-drummond.news .
Andrew Drummond kindly published two of my articles in February and March 2016 and added some valuable comments which are reproduced below:     

“I have attended enough trials in Thailand to never be surprised by a verdict and never surprised when the verdict files in the face of what I have heard in court.”  

Source: http://www.andrew-drummond.news/a-matter-of-record-a-legal-view-on-the-innocence-of-the-koh-tao-two/ 10 February 2016

“COMMENT: A lot of criticism has been levelled at the defence team in this trial since the guilty verdict was announced and Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin were sentenced to death.

“On this I can only make my own personal observation. In all the trials I have attended in Thailand I have never come out of any of them believing any lawyer has put in a good effort.  It appears to be that Thais think, and I am fearful of generalising on this point,  in a totally different way – and certainly not laterally.  There are always, it seems, dozens of crucial questions I would have asked, which are not.

“And as for Thai laws and the application of it I do know Thai lawyers who have totally given up the profession or at least given up practicing criminal law because of the way justice is stacked up against defendants.  

“And if law students really believed in justice I am surprised they do not quit law school after the first term.”   

Source: http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2016/03/so-what-happened-to-footprints-of.html 5 March 2016

A Thai court can rely too heavily on the unexplained opinions of self-professed DNA experts.  With the greatest respect to the Samui Provincial Court I submit that it erred in accepting the DNA evidence of the prosecution.  

Australian courts have made similar mistakes which has been highlighted by an additional expert adviser for the defence, Dr Brian McDonald.  To follow is a link to an article on errors in Australian courts 

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/forensic-science-in-the-dock/story-e6frg6zo-1225849056865 .

The court also appears to have misconstrued what a defence witness, Worawee Wiyawuth MD said in evidence.  The witness was silent on the question of whether the police laboratories operate in keeping with international standards in this case but the court held at page 38 of the judgment that the witness said the laboratories operate in keeping with such standards and by implication that they did so in this case.  It was this finding of fact, unsupported by Dr Worawee’s evidence that helped convince the court to accept the prosecution’s DNA evidence.

The evidence concerning David’s mobile phone is interesting but very unclear.  The prosecution maintains that Wai Phyo helped murder David and Hannah then took David’s phone from his body.  Wai Phyo’s evidence is that he left the beach with Zaw Lin minus his shoes and (Mau Mau’s) shirt which had gone missing but then returned to the beach to search for those items whereupon he found A mobile phone some distance away from where the bodies were later discovered.

Wai Phyo’s evidence continued that when he discovered he could not open the mobile phone that he found he gave it to his friend Ren Ren as Ren Ren often shared his tips with Wai Phyo.

The prosecution case is that when Ren Ren learned of the murders he suspected that the mobile phone Wai Phyo gave him might be connected to those murders so Ren Ren smashed the mobile phone and left it behind his hut.  Some weeks later following Wai Phyo’s arrest the police visited Ren Ren and maintain that they recovered a smashed mobile phone from behind Ren Ren’s hut.

In court the prosecution maintained that it had a smashed mobile phone and had a witness testify that a person in the British Embassy said in a telephone conversation that the serial number of the mobile phone that belonged to David Miller matched the serial number of the smashed mobile phone in the prosecution’s possession.

One obvious comment about the telephone conversation is that it is clearly hearsay evidence and should not be admitted as evidence.  It can be dangerous enough to allow hearsay evidence but I also note that the court rejected hearsay evidence that Andy Hall had tried to introduce in the form of a report on the gait analysis of the so called “running man”. 

In Thailand it can be an offence to criticize a judge (and some judges are as young as 25) but it seems fair to say that sometimes Thai courts accept hearsay evidence and sometimes they do not.  

I sat through a three day trial in the Phuket Provincial Court in July 2015 in which the prosecution gave hearsay evidence through the non-English speaking Navy Captain Panlob on the meaning of some English words.  Captain Panlob did so on the strength of what an “expert” in the Navy had told him and the meaning was central to the entire case.  (The Navy “expert” happened to be wrong).

An Australian SBS documentary on the same Phuket case http://www.sbs.com.au/news/dateline/story/thailands-moment-truth had an interesting scene where the defence lawyers were advising one of the defendants, Australian journalist Alan Morison to lie to the court – and these defence lawyers were the good guys!  To his credit Alan refused to lie and won the case anyway.

The point I make in this regard is that it seems perfectly acceptable for Thai lawyers to mislead their courts.  In Western Australia a lawyer’s first duty is to the court and his/her second duty is to his/her client.  I would imagine that a lawyer caught advising a client to commit perjury would be severely disciplined if not struck off the roll.  

The Public Prosecutor of Koh Samui Province who acted in the Koh Tao case does not enjoy the best of reputations.  Anyone who wishes to know more can look at the sufferings of Jack Hansen-Bartel at Andrew Drummond’s website http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2015/02/hear-ye-hear-ye-schools-out-and-court.html . (One of many articles)  

In short, one could not trust the Koh Samui Prosecutor to refrain from presenting evidence to the court that he knew to be false. 
In relation to the mobile phone that Wai Phyo gave to Ren Ren there was a break in the chain of evidence that would be required to show that this phone matched the smashed phone with a serial number matching the serial number of David’s phone.  

I am aware that the court appears to have concluded that the mobile phone that Wai Phyo gave Ren Ren matches David’s phone but my sources including a retired barrister who attended the court and who has the “transcripts” maintains that there was a break in the chain of custody evidence.  There was also no evidence of Wai Pho’s finger prints being on any of the pieces of the smashed phone nor of David’s fingerprints.

If Wai Phyo found a mobile phone in Western Australia and kept it or used it in a manner inconsistent with the rights of the true owner he might be guilty of the offence of stealing from a person unknown, so there is no concept in our Criminal Code of “finders keepers”.  However, he would not be convicted of stealing a particular person’s phone.

In the circumstances, I do not see that there is reliable evidence that the mobile phone that Wai Phyo handed to Ren Ren was David’s phone.  The police know how to use cameras and video cameras.  If it had been an honest and diligent investigation the police would have photographed and taken video footage of the smashed phone in situ behind Ren Ren’s hut then had him confirm on camera and in writing that the smashed phone was the product of the phone Wai Phyo had given him.   

Persons interested in reading further comments about the mobile phone might wish to examine the material on Andy Hall’s Facebook page at the following links (although it is not all crystal clear):

https://www.facebook.com/andy.hall.3110/posts/10153261210105677
Other relevant posts:

https://www.facebook.com/andy.hall.3110/posts/10153260624680677
https://www.facebook.com/andy.hall.3110/posts/10153283989215677
https://www.facebook.com/andy.hall.3110/posts/10153260624680677
https://www.facebook.com/andy.hall.3110/posts/10153261310280677
https://www.facebook.com/andy.hall.3110/posts/10153260619305677

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MOBILE PHONE EVIDENCE

The evidence surrounding the mobile phone is not particularly important in its own right.  Indeed it is “circumstantial evidence” and has been described by both Jonathan Head of the BBC and Andy Hall as “tangential”.

If the phone that Wai Phyo gave Ren Ren was proved to be David’s phone then it would of course be worthy of some suspicion but Wai Phyo’s explanation of finding it still seems plausible.  
However, the suspicion can make it easier for some people to be persuaded to accept DNA evidence that they might not fully understand.  

On a more serious note, it should not be overlooked that without chain of custody evidence regarding the mobile phone the police can leave themselves exposed to allegations that they substituted David’s phone for the phone that Wai Phyo gave Ren Ren.

The police already face credible allegations of using torture on the defendants and on other Burmese migrants on Koh Tao following the murders.

With the multiple defects in the presentation of their DNA evidence the police open themselves up to allegations of tampering with that evidence as well.

It is a common feature of cases involving fraud that when one uncovers one example of fraud a more thorough investigation frequently uncovers further frauds.  It truly is similar to finding one cockroach which is a good sign that a dozen or more other cockroaches are lurking in the shadows and crevices nearby.  The most successful investor in history, Warren Buffett makes similar observations when scrutinising a possible investment.

People in the motion picture industry often say that one trait of a good movie is that it creates a suspension of disbelief in the audience.  That is the audience forgets in a sense that the movie is not real.  Anyone with a reasonable understanding of how Thai justice works (or doesn’t work) requires a very willing suspension of disbelief in order to accept the story that the Thai police and prosecutor have tried to sell to the world.    

Ian Yarwood LLB, B Com
Solicitor 
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THAILAND'S VEXATIOUS COMPUTER CRIME LITIGANTS - CLOSING THE BOOKS

April 12, 2016, 11:29 am
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DREW NOYES AND BRIAN GOUDIE HIT THE DUST - BUT LITTLE THANKS TO THAILAND'S JUSTICE SYSTEM



With the confirmation of the conviction and jailing of Drew Noyes, former publisher of the Pattaya Times newspaper – and the conviction and new arrest warrants for fake British lawyer Brian Goudie, aka Goldie, now is the time perhaps to close the book on these two low life scammers.


The wheels of Thailand’s legal system screeched, and groaned and came off the rails on numerous occasions demonstrating how primitive it is and how easily fooled.

But finally they have had their come come-uppance.

The only person of this group who has sued me who is not yet in jail is David John Hanks, the former owned of the Masquerades Brothel in Keysborough, near Melbourne, who played the part of the not too intelligent  Scottish ‘heavy’ for both of them.  But I am confident his future is limited.

Drew Noyes is kicking his heels in the United States and faces arrest if he comes back to Thailand. He ran again as expected. Just as he did after the Wilmington Morning Star (now Star-News) exposed his ‘myriad of lies’, property fraud, share fraud, and sexual harassment way back in 1995.


Brian Goudie also disappeared and failed to keep to the terms of the bail while appealing a very light three year jail sentence for defrauding a 78-year-ld woman out of approx US$240,000.officially, but more like US$300,000.

We had exposed Noyes for re-inventing himself as an American lawyer, an American financial expert who had come to Thailand by Royal Proclamation, and for cheating a wide variety of people in different ways.

Similarly with Brian Goudie, who claimed he was a qualified British barrister and former office in the Royal Marines, we exposed him as Brian Goldie, who had been jailed for six years in Australia for stealing from the company that employed him, who had had an arrest warrant issued by police in the UK in connection with a fraud on the Royal Bank of Scotland – and who had fled both the UK and Australia for the easy pickings of Thailand.

Goudie is in breach of his bail terms and has new warrants of arrest out for him.

These guys will turn up like bent pennies somewhere else and no doubt commit more frauds because they cannot change and Thailand, despite convicting them, has failed to adequately deal with them,  

Good luck to those who have to deal with them in the future.


I won't be forgetting about them forever of course - If they start new scams and I hear so will you.

Meanhile 'Brian Goldie' - Swindler Scot goes to air in the UK on Your TV, 9pm. (Freeview).


Yesterday's report in the journalist’s weekly – UK Press Gazette:

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/thai-libel-actions-brought-againt-uk-freelance-are-dropped-after-plaintiffs-extortion-conviction.


http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/content/british-journalist-most-sued-living-history-leaves-thailand-after-25-years-following-threats



Earlier story:

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/most-sued-journalist-living-history-gets-support-british-ambassador-thailand

COMING SOON ON THIS SITE

ROBBED OF THEIR HOMES IN PARADISE!

Time Is Up on 30 years renewable leases

AND NOW WE CAN EXPOSE THE CON
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THAI POLICE ARMED BRITISH DOUBLE CATEGORY A VIOLENT CRIMINAL

April 13, 2016, 2:06 am
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CONVICTED BANK ROBBER ARMED BY POLICE IN THAILAND FOR TERROR


These are the moments a Thai policeman handed over a gun to a former ‘Double Category A’ British convict in the Thai resort of Hua Hin.




The recipient was Jason Coghlan a convicted criminal and bank robbery and brother of the boss of one of Britain’s most violent criminal gangs – Arran Coghlan – known as the Teflon Don because three murder charges failed to stick against him.

The Thai policeman simply wants cash. ‘This is to protect yourself,’ he told Jason Coghlan.

Coghlan then went on to use it to terrify foreign residents who had bought into houses on the Avalon (Now renamed Khao Noi)  estate in Hua Hin, who were giving the developer Dutchman Dingeman Hendrikse (see Gangland Britain in Thailand – Dinkie’s Enforcer) some grief.

Coghlan knew the policeman was on his way to deliver the gun so he took out insurance. As he greets the policeman at the door his girlfriend turns on the camera and rushes upstairs.



The policeman comes in. Jason sits down in front of the hidden camera to record the scene and hands over a wad of cash. The policeman then produces the gun from behind his trouser belt and hands it over.




They shake hands and Coghlan wais and the policeman is on his way and then former armed robber Jason checks out his his new lethal purchase.




If this scene suggests that Thai police are the mafia in Thailand then that may not be far from the truth.
But there is no honour among thieves and Jason recorded the video for insurance.

“I did not want the police raiding my house the next day demanding ten times the amount I paid for the gun to get off firearm charges so I kept this record,” he said from Spain last night



HENDRIKSE (left)

On the other hand Jason is not a grass and insisted that the Thai policeman not be identified when he gave the video to VICE TV and allowed me to show it. Jason has now gone ‘straight’.

He later fell out with Dutchman Dingeman Hendrikse (Dinky)  and subsequently police did raid premises where he had previously being staying – namely 81 Avalon.

Coghlan shot at plastic sharks at his swimming pool and ensured Hendrikse’s bills were paid.

Residents were too scared to tell police.


Guns on wheels. 81 Avalon - the estate's name was later changed to Khao Noi Village - possibly to hide its reputation.
The gun was personally delivered here


Jason says he is now committed to stay on the right side of the law. He  runs a law office called Jacog Law in Marbella – the original Costa del Crime and a favourite haunt for Britain’s criminal fraternity.

Its a far cry from his days in Manchester when he drove flash cars and wore suits with his own  designer label ‘Gangster’




Thailand has of course long been a favourite to take over the position as a criminals preferred destination.

But major stumbling blocks preventing the country being No 1  have always been the wives, or ‘molls’ who do not like the competition from Thai women and the distance from their UK homes and their families.




Oxley
Hua Hin is of course the home of Darren Oxley who has one of the biggest mansions in the resort town. 

Oxley, described as a violent man and a man not to meddle with, fled while on trial for drugs dealing in Sheffield – see report here.

His wife Janpan and two others were convicted of the attempted murder of Donald ‘Biff’ Whiting a former US Marine, who had bought a home from Oxley who runs a development business in Hua Hin. She was given bail to appeal.

The wealthy couple threw lavish parties at their Hua Hin mansion.



LINK TO VIDEO
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AUTHOR OF THAI BASED BOOK 'THE LAST RESORT' REFUSED PROMISED VISA

April 14, 2016, 1:53 am
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HE COULD DEAL WITH ARTHUR SCARGILL BUT NOT THAILAND'S IMMIGRATION POLICE

In its continuing onslaught against foreigners Thailand has cut short the annual holiday of British journalist and author Maurice Jones and told him to get packing in seven days.


Jones, a well-known and feisty journalist front the north of England wrote the amusing novel ‘The Last Resort’.

The novel was based on a scheme by the leader of a cash strapped local council to outsource its care for the elderly to Thai resorts – on the basis that it would be cheaper that running ‘Old Folks Homes’ in the UK,

Jones is now retired and spends four months a year in Thailand and as usual he says had applied for a 90 day visa with the assurance that it could be extended by 30 days. 

This assurance was given by the Thai Consulate in Liverpool.
The Samui immigration Office has told him no – he has seven days only. Jones,70 from Waterfoot, Lancashire wrote to the Bangkok Post.


“Warmth, friendliness, beauty in many forms, exquisite cuisine — and the ever-present sanook. That, for me, sums up Thailand. 

“If I may update Dr Johnson’s famous comment about being tired of London, the quote for today’s world should read: “He who is tired of Thailand is tired of life.” So last week came as a shock. 



After visiting Thailand for almost 20 years, I was told that a written visa entitlement, granted and paid for in Britain, was being over-ruled by the Koh Samui immigration office.”

He adds that he has written his letter more in sorrow than anger:


“ I and all people of goodwill towards Thailand, want to see the country progress and continue on an upward path in the years ahead — hopefully realising its immense potential.“


He certainly understands Thai culture but alas not everybody is up to speed on what is happening in Thailand at the moment.

The trickle of foreigners wishing to leave has turned to a stream – and others are simply being made to go. I am not sure its going to be a flood.  There will be people gripping on my their finger nails.

Maurice edited ‘The Miner’ of the National Union of Mineworkers under President Arthur Scargill AND they did not always see eye to eye. He is a former Yorkshire ‘Journalist of the Year’, and is by no means naïve.

He seems to have a fascination for Koh Samui, an island I would only go to in the last ten years if paid by a newspaper or attending a court case


His satirical novel is about what goes wrong when pensioners are sent to care homes in Thailand. 

In the book they died in sex acts and in other  more mysterious ways and the subject of euthanasia was also touched on. 

The cover shows a pensioner with his Zimmer frame ogling a girl in a bikini on a beach.

Foreigners will not get a tremendous amount of sympathy from the local population I am afraid, though resort operators will be concerned. 

A few of my Thai friends have commented recently that they are either sick of or boredThai Police Logo Immigration with tourists.

Actually my old sparring partner Mr.ThaiVisa is quite a good source on what is happening in this area at the moment as are other websites. 

However the people who seem to be affected most are not the foreign criminal community who can cross palms with gold, but genuine tourists, and less well-off people like teachers.  Foreign criminals do not bother with visa runs so this will be interesting to watch.


The immigration department is now printing forms for foreigners to sign demanding such details as what vehicle you drive, your social media profile, overseas addresses, bank accounts , locals who can contact you, where you ‘visit regularly’. That will certainly set the alarm bells ringing for a few Thai Visa posters.

Forget about Thai equivalent of the Data Protection Act. Once you give this information to the Thai government you are giving it to the world. Such is the corruption there is always someone who will release it for a small fee.

(*Some people have been known to say say simply - in Thailand 'tired of living')

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WANTED BRIT SOUGHT IN PATTAYA AND PHNOM PENH

April 15, 2016, 2:10 am
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Briton Simon Corner the subject of a Euro arrest warrant issued after the disappearance of his Scots girlfriend Lis Brown in the south of Spain last November could be a test case for co-operation between police forces across two continents.

So far the Guardia Civil, the primary investigator, has been involved with police in Merseyside, where Corner, 33, is from and from Police Scotland. Lisa, 32, is from Dumbarton.


On his return to Malaga
Corner, who is also reported by some media as having trouble with criminal gangs in southern Spain, was reported spotted in Pattaya last week by a Scot who called the Daily Record.

He could also now be in Cambodia.

He left Spain about the time of Lisa’s disappearance but flight records show that he travelled back to Malaga on Jan 18th from Phnom Penh, via Guangzhou, China and Paris. 

Lisa Brown’s family has offered a £6,500 reward (322,775 Thai baht) which is an attractive incentive to people in the likes of Pattaya, Phuket,  Phnom Penh, and Sihanoukville.

The legal problem is of course whether there are any sort of grounds for extradition.  He has not been charged with anything and his girlfriend has not been found, although there is a belief that she is dead.

He could stay in Cambodia for a long time.  That is what has happened in the case of James Guido Eglitis, wanted in Australia for kidnap and posing as police.

Although Corner did return to Spain last January on the advice of a lawyer – he did not attend a pre-arranged meeting with police and instead fled again the following day.  He may only have travelled   back to ‘realise some assets’.

Lisa's family are banking on the fact that Corner might run out of cash. 

Corner also used the names Dean Woods, and Dean Tripp

DAILY RECORD

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HOMES TAKEN AND FOREIGNERS EVICTED ON THAI 'PARADISE' ISLAND

April 17, 2016, 1:12 am
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THANKS, BUT WE WANT TO RENT AND SELL YOUR HOUSES TO OTHER FOREIGNERS NOW!








Foreigners who built expensive holiday and retirement homes on the Thai island of Koh Samui on ‘extendable leases’ leases have been kicked out and their property and their possessions seized.

Now their homes are being rented and sold to other foreigners.



The homeowners who had homes constructed by a German developer who obtained the leased plots in a coconut plantation from a local landowner Sruet Shuenban are angry – but the ‘Get out!’ deal has been rubber stamped by the island court.




The foreigners, mainly European, had had houses built in estates known as Coconut Village and Coconut Grove by the Coconut Houses and Land Company of Norbert Verweyen – a notorious property developer whose harassment of house owners on the Santi Thani estate in Samui has been documented here and here. and where he has been involved in over 100 legal cases.

The harassment on Santi Thani included blocked the home owners from their homes (top picture and below) and he even took owners to court (including a 78-year-old lady) for working without a permit after they set up an owners committee.

 
The STerlin Wall.,  ST stands for Santi Thani


And with their own cash they tailored the estates even building a communal swimming pool although in one estate they all had their own.


Not surprisingly there is a lot of anger and bitterness – not least because Verweyen and Michael Grover, a British director and Verweyen's partner in the companies controlling the estate, had told the home owners that their rights would be protected.


NORBERT (BACK LEFT) – SIDEICK JURGEN MESSNER (BACK RIGHT)  SAMUI PLEASURE SALES AND RENTALS. FRONT RIGHT SUTHEP THAUGSUBAN FORMER DEPUTY LEADER OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY

They appeared to do the opposite. The Thai landlord Sruet Shuenban took a case through her nominee Mrs. Suthatip (nicknamed Kheow). It was a stitch-up.




Verweyen told the court he did not want to renew the lease on Coconut Village or Coconut Grove – and in one stroke all residents there lost their properties. Verweyen also agreed there could be no appeal to that decision.




(Michael‘MICK’ GROVER, claims to have been a Navy diver)

The Thai landlord had demanded an astronomical increase in the land rents plus 50 per cent of all income from rental. Many owners had built the properties as holiday homes only. And when they were not there they rented the properties out.

The names of the villages have changed.  And guess who is controlling the sales and rentals of the smart properties the previous owners have lost?

They now come under ‘Monsoon Villas’ a sub-division of Grover’s ‘Lom Talay Company’.





In 2009 seemingly in preparation for Doomsday Verweyen transferred the properties to Lom Talay and the new agreement did not appear to contain the same commitment to extend the lease.






But owners insist both Verweyen and Grover told them that everything was in hand and not to worry. What they were not told was that what was in hand was a plan to have them evicted unless they agreed to brutal new terms.

A representative of the home owners said:


“When the rental agreement between Coconuts Village and Grove expired Mike who was at that time managing the Village told the owners not to worry as he was negotiating the extension with Thai landlord. 

“But in fact the owners received a letter from her stating that as the owner of the land she was proposing a 2 years renewal at extravagant financial conditions or the owners had to move out all their belonging within 7 days otherwise she will take them for herself. Most of the owners were living outside of Thaïland and were unable to come to remove the content of their house. 

“The landlord took all their belonging and sold them. In order to avoid to have to pay the damages to the owners for their house at market value as provided by thaï law ( Civil Code 1416 ) 
“The landowner started civil proceedings against Coconuts Village and Grove (Verweyen and Grover) . Before the Court Coconuts Village and Grove confirmed that all the construction on the land were from the beginning of the lease agreement the sole property of landowner. 

“Trusting Norbert and Mike those owners have lost all their investments a( house and its content ) and cannot act against the landowner due to the judgment which was based on false declarations of Coconuts Village and Grove.”

Owners complained to Thailand’s Department of Special Investigations alleging fraud.

Had they been told they were merely building houses for the Thai landowner they would not have done so in the first place.

The DSI passed the enquiry over to the tax office as they noted taxes had not been paid. But they could not deal with the matter as fraud, they said.

The owners’ houses are now being rented out to holiday makers at up to US$300 a night – with all winning except the owners themselves.

Finally if you want to buy, er, borrow, land on Koh Samui, build your dream home and than hand it over to someone else you can also go to this site. OK Properties is a name only. It does not exist as a company. In fact as we revealed recently Verweyen has recently been taking down OK Property signs, 

Footnote: Coconut Grove and Coconut Village Company shareholders:


.        Norbert  2752 shares    Mick Grover 1,200 shares



"We are charming" says the promo for
Monsoon Beach Villas
COMMENT: This is rather par for the Samui course. Foreigners cannot buy property in Thailand. But they can lease for 30 years and many are guaranteed an extention of lease for a further 30. 

I have yet to see any of these deals going through successfully – but that’s maybe because there agreements are only just kicking in now. 

The owners trusted the developers on an island where truth is not a by word. 

Some may have the consolation that for their initial outlay and low ground rent they have enjoyed 20 plus years and have been able to get cash back by sub-renting. Others not so.

But quite clearly there is dishonesty afoot lots of it, so much so that Norbert appears to have been established for a long time as part of the island mafia. 

'Owners' could take into account the incidents in which he fled from a drugs arrest in Pattaya, and the murder of his wife and shooting of his sales manager (see the link below - A Serious and Imminent Danger ) or the fact that despite the 100 court cases (many against him) and the fact that diplomatic complaints have been made, including one from the British Ambassador Mark Kent, he remains unscathed.

Property buying on Koh Samui – A Serious and imminent danger to lives

A SERIOUS AND IMMINENT DANGER TO LIVES

Landlord from hell scores his legal century
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Wanted: Red bloated rugby watching Welshman with deteriorating teeth : Reward US$5000

April 18, 2016, 4:10 am
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BUT NOT CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS

A reward of US$5000 has been put out now for the whereabouts of Greg Pitt, a former stalwart of the British Chamber of Commerce in Thailand.

According to those hunting him down he has been sentenced to 18 years in jail by the provincial court in Trat Province – but presumably because he has money and this was private prosecution, he has not yet seen any prison bars.

Pitt was the managing director of Bangkok law firm McKenzie-Smith. 

He was also promoting Ponzis.  Two of his projects were the Royal Siam Trust and White Sands Beach  - a resort on Koh Chang.

Here is the blurb below from the FindGregPitt Facebook page, which is where I got his description from – but you can go there yourself at this link or go to the FindGregPitt website.

Personally I thought being dodgy was a prerequisite for joining a Thai version of the 'Chamber, Rotary, Lions, Masons, Optimists' etc. However now as Pitt appears to be Somphon and Thai, perhaps he is quite safe.




But what is is with foreign bosses of law firms in Thailand. Take the ones exposed on this site, Drew Noyes (One Stop Legal Services, Pattaya) - on the run after being jailed for extortion, Brian Goudie, aka Goldie, from Falkirk, boss of Alba Laws, on the run having been jailed for four years for theft and embezzlement, British Law (Pattaya) owner struck off as a solicitor in the UK.

There is a reward out for Goudie of course of 100,000 baht but it make take cash to get Thai  police to arrest a crook.




HE HAS STOLEN FROM INVESTORS IN JAPAN AND NORTH AMERICA.$5,000 REWARD LEADING TO HIS CAPTURE IN THAILAND or ELSEWHERE.We will work with our legal counsel and network that will liaise with the local Thai police for the arrest warrants to be served. 
Bizarrely, this conman now has a new Thai name (Somphong Leekaew) and possibly other new identities. He may have help now from 'friends' to elude capture that once worked for him or borrowed some of the stolen funds he controlled over the last 18 years. 
He has stolen millions from investors from 1998-2014.He is wanted by the Thai courts on multiple arrest warrants for fraud, embezzlement and multiple skipped court appearances. 
Help us find him before he steals again or hides in plain sight in Thailand or ?HOW TO RECOGNIZE HIM? 
FACE/HAIR 
Usually red and bloated with a short neck and broad shoulders.Hair now WHITE but past thick brown parted down the middle.Teeth are quite deteriorated and small.
He is possibly wearing a white beard and hat outside now.Date of Birth: 10-5-1954 (61) 
VOICE
He has a big laugh and strong Welsh accent (quite difficult to understand while he's consuming alcohol).He is known only to speak English and very little if any Thai. 
He is very heavy set and average height: 178-180cm or 5'10-5'11 and around 120-130kgs or 270-290lbs (or more).


He has health issues. Face becomes quite red with heavy alcohol consumption and he takes medication for his heart and high blood pressure. Last known to use an asthma inhaler in 2012-13. 
BEHAVIOR/OTHER HINTS 
His demeanor has become quite erratic over the last few years (reported) since several lawsuits and criminal charges have been lodged against him combined with his confidence schemes fully exposed. 
He often drinks and eats at English or Irish pubs well air-conditioned, beach or city. 
He wears mostly short or long pants (never jeans), dress or collared shirts and probably has not donned a business suit in five years since retiring from being a fake lawyer and conman (Mackenzie Smith Law, Bangkok and Pattaya)
He likes red meat and English, Welsh or Irish cuisine.
He is not known to smoke. 
Enjoys watching rugby, football and cricket at pubs.He has terminated his mobile number in 2015 after 10-15 plus years. 
Speaks about law as if he went to law school.Has a very bad attitude towards Americans and known to be quite racist. 
Drove a White BMW 5 Series in Thailand. Not known to drive anymore due to health and the obvious. 
WHERE IS HE NOW? PROFESSIONAL GUESSES...

THAILAND: A good 95%. Bangkok, Pattaya and possibly Hua Hin or south Thailand. Pattaya was known to be his primary operating hub after semi-retiring from professional conning in Bangkok in 2010. Holds several properties around the country in other company (Thai nominee) names such as Mackenzie Smith or Mackenzie Taylor. 
Highly likely all is in a trust and will to his adult sons in the UK. Note* His victims bought these. 
LOCAL REWARD of 175,000 Thai Baht or $5,000 USD leading to the location and capture for the police. All inquiries, casual tips and even people protecting him will be kept in the utmost confidence or confidential.***LEGAL NOTE*** This blog is NOT defamation, libel or slander. 
This is a wanted fugitive for criminal convictions (active arrest warrants) and his victims justice. Other than running a fraudulent gun-for-hire law firm known as Mackenzie Smith Law (seed funded by his first Ponzi scheme Managed Savings Ltd.) he additionally ran a land banking investment called White Sands Beach in Trat and helped/owned a shell company marketing scheme called Royal Siam Trust from 2004-2010 (the money being collected in Hong Kong). 
Recently the main asset White Sands Beach Co. was illegally sold by his former Thai wife to a small law firm; and another foreigner and his Thai wife now owning full ownership rights that DOES NOT BELONG to them. 
Your help will be appreciated by his victims, the courts, the police and rewarded for his capture and certain location and address. 
For legal reasons we cannot openly post certified copies of his arrest warrants but under conditions via mail or in person (police) to prevent an array of problems or set backs including him being tipped off to go into hiding again, or run.

Contact:
gregpitt.manhunt@gmail.comTwitter: @findgregpitt+66 0973580725Make sure to have some valid proof of his location and for us to begin the procedure for his capture including a generous reward in cash or bank wire. Again, we can provide certified copies of his warrants in confidence and you may remain anonymous with the police as well as simply a tipster to find this white collar criminal at large. For your information he is not considered armed and dangerous whatsoever and a coward.
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AMERICAN SEX TOURIST COMPETES AS CLICK BAIT AGAINST WOMAN WITH TWO VAGINAS

April 21, 2016, 5:10 am
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Ben Bartanyi must be regretting the day when he showed the class of tourist typically cruising down one of the sleaziest streets in the Thai resort of Pattaya.



Ruining the image? This image?

He was caught on camera during the country’s Songkran New Year festivities engaged in a sexual act with a Thai bar girl and instantly became click bait for internet sites – notably the Mail online, which of course has a full American staff, who would have pushed this story right to his home in Southern California much higher up their news list.

The Mail online is not shy about this. Today it is publishing a story about a woman with two vaginas. The story was published on Reddit some time ago.

Amusingly the accusations of giving Thailand a bad name, and even giving tourism a bad name were at the forefront of Thai websites such as this one.

After the video was published Bartanyi was arrested and charged with indecency. 

There appears to be some confusion as to whether he then paid a local fine of 500 baht as claimed by the Scottish owner of the rather tacky StickboyBangkok website.


 (Sleazy as in the headline ‘Taiwanese binge drinker inducted into the Chiang Rai Flying Club’ over a story about a Taiwanese man who fell to his death from a Chiang Rai hotel).

Other reports said he would have to go to court.  The bar girl in question as expected has pleaded innocence saying she was drunk and did not know what was happening. The first she knew was when she saw the video. She was not charged.

Ben was very apologetic.




I cannot see it reported that these bars have to pay their dues to police to operate as brothels. They all contain short time rooms. Sometimes the guests and their hostesses simply do not bother to use them.

However if you describe them as brothels in Thailand you could be sued under the Computer Crimes Act - and they will be able to claim, with police back up, that theirs is not a commercial sex establishment.


The name of the Facebook poster has been
deleted for obvious reasons

It is all illegal in Thailand of course but the payment to police makes it legal. Hard to know who is giving the country a bad name.

One could argue that the city council could be taken to court for outraging public decency...but thankfully a licensed bar called the 'Gobble and Go' - has gone.
  
Still the military takes control of the city on June 16th then, if it’s like what is happening on the Full Moon Party island of Koh Phangan then all payments will rise and they will have to go to the government – via the local council.

I'm not providing links to the video. Those desperate to see will find it soon enough.

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MR BEAN'S FORMER BOSS NAMED AS BOILER ROOM FRAUDSTER

April 25, 2016, 7:05 am
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OUTED BY A BOILER ROOM MINION

A boiler room boss known in Thailand as ‘Paki Pete’, who has taken down customers for millions of dollars in share fraud has been exposed as an Indian businessman with links to Crime Suppression Division Police.

Variously known Pete the Indian, Paki Pete, or Sri Lankan Pete or Tony he has now been named as Mr. Pratheep Luthra currently living at an address on Propokklao Road, Chiang Mai.

Apart from his boiler room scams he is reported to have several legitimate businesses now in Thailand - a usual modus operandum for boiler room operators. One of his businesses was named as Kareena Tour and Travel Co, Ltd.



Another in which he seems to be playing a major part is a company called  PJE Global Solutions, which was decked out just like the boiler rooms in Bangkok, before they decided to operate in small groups rather than large rooms.



An anonymous contributor to ‘Craigslist’ where Pratheep is named and which is the preferred recruiting site of boiler room operators asks:

“Who did he piss off this time fail to pay? Or did he steal some leads? Sell some fake leads? 
Did he sell the same set of "exclusive" fully qualified leads to multiple shops? Did he steal somebody's banking? 
Did he pay the opens but steal the loads? Did give out fake work permits? So many possibilities.”

The comment on Craigslist was up for only 24 hours.

Justin Bean
Prateep’s identity has been confirmed by American Phillip Justin Bean, who fled one of Paki Pete’s’ boiler rooms in Sukhumvit Suites, Bangkok, 18 months ago and through this site and at the suggestion to US law enforcement officers reported the boiler room to the Royal Thai Police.


Mr. Bean said he was shocked to discover that rather than just working in sales he was being asked to defraud people. 

At the time the boiler room was run under the name the Venture Jones Group with a Britain called Alex Johnson running it as ‘room manager’.

The Venture Jones Group was selling fake shares in the Chinese internet sales company Ali Baba and the Tesla Motors.

Sukhumvit Suites


When Bean said he was leaving Johnson insisted that he was escorted to the airport and put on a flight back to the Philippines. He pretended to willingly go through the process, but as he was not escorted to the check-in counter, he returned to Bangkok to go for another sales job.

Giannini
That turned out to be another boiler room run by Canadian Frank Giannini with a 28-year-old Muslim calling himself Shahid O'Connor carrying an Irish passport.

Mr. Bean said that Lebanese born Giannini held on to his passport and instructed guards on a village in Lat Krabang, eastern Bangkok, where the boiler room operated, not to let him leave the village unescorted.

Gianini's house in Lat Krabvang
used as a boiler room
Justin Bean contacted this site and after conducting US Law enforcement at the US Embassy in Bangkok and we told him to make a run for it without his passport.

Bean duly got his passport back after police raided the house in Lat Krabang and Giannini and an Irish passport holder were arrested for heroin offences.

Paki Pete’s operation on the 11th floor of Sukhumvit Suites was also raided. But the tip off had already gone out. The people and computers had been removed and all police found was some VOIP (Voice over internet protocol) equipment for making cheap international calls.


Bean had however found that rather than thanking him for his assistance the CSD team led by Police Colonel Akkarawut Limrat treated him in at threatening manner, accused him of being involved in drugs, and threatened to charge him. 

Giannini after killing two Thais
The US authorities complained and he was released but at the airport he said he was stripped by a Thai Customs official as he left who demanded most of his remaining cash and told him not to come back to Thailand.

Giannini and his Irish ‘Shahid’ were also quietly released from jail two weeks later.  Giannini had previously released after being arrested for crashing into a Thai baht bus in Pattaya killing two of its occupants, and for carrying drugs paraphernalia.

Police Colonel Akkarawut died after ‘falling from a height’ at the middle of the purge by the military of the CSD in 2014 where it was found they were involved in a series of major Mafioso style rackets.

Akkarawut Limrat  jumped said
the Bangkok Post
However the raids were politically motivated as senior officers were friends and relatives of the wife of Thailand’s Crown Prince who had become ‘persona non grata’.

Shown a picture of Pratheep Justin Bean appeared to be in no doubt. He said: “Yes – that’s him, that f……g -  c…ks….king - faggot”.

Justin Bean no longer looks on Craigslist for sales jobs in Bangkok.

Pratheep's identity was also confirmed by a second 'former' boiler room loader based in the Philipinnes.

POLICE CATCH KILLER WOLF OF BANGKOK

SCANDAL OF THE BOILER ROOM DRUGGIE

MR BEAN'S HOLIDAY IN THAILAND


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INTERNATIONAL INQUIRY SOUGHT OVER THAILAND'S POLICE DNA PRACTICES

April 26, 2016, 7:10 am
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STOP THAILAND'S QUALITY TESTING OF EXPORTS IF POLICE DO NOT COME CLEAN ON DNA, SAY EXPERTS

Thai police are to be reported to an international regulator over their conduct in the investigation of two young Burmese men for the murders of Britons Hannah Witheridge and David Miller on a Thai holiday island.

(EVENING STANDARD)




International legal and DNA forensic scientists have advised the defence team of the two Burmese who last year were sentenced to death for the murders and rape of Hannah to make the formal complaint and demand a retrial.

The team has called into question the operation of the Thai Police Forensics Laboratory – which must be internationally regulated.

At best they say that the DNA investigation was incompetent with no chain of evidence or disclosures. 





The worst case scenario is that the 21-year-olds Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were framed.

Action could be taken to stop Thailand quality testing its own export products if the issue is not resolved.


On the panel of experts consulted is Mark Trowell QC who observed and advised on the case of Anwar Ibraham, Malaysia’s Opposition leader. Anwar was accused of sodomy in a case where the DNA evidence and manipulation of it was crucial.

He said: 


“While foreigners will be criticized for interfering it is clear not only for the sake of defendants but also for future cases that Thailand’s DNA testing should be brought to account.”



Also on the team was eminent Australian DNA forensic scientist and instructor Jane Taupin who was summoned to Thailand as a witness in the Thai case, but then never called. She too supported an international enquiry.


Had she actually given evidence it is believed she would have blown open the whole Thai DNA collection procedure.  In short the the prosecution did not present a case in which independent scientists could come to the same conclusions. And with 16 years studying DNA she said the police case made no sense.


Jane Taupin said today: 


“What has been reported in the judgement, gives rise to concern.   
“There was an emphasis that the Thai police laboratory met 'international standards' for DNA analysis. 

“There was no international standard that I am aware that reports DNA results without a. an estimate of the minimum number of contributors; b. a statistical analysis of the significance of any 'match'; c. statistical analysis of contributors to a mixture of DNA.”

Another member of the team a Commonwealth barrister and trial observer, who asked to remain anonymous as he was in Thailand put it simply:


 “The whole judgment was based on the fact that the Thai police complied with international standards which quite frankly they did not – none of them.  
“This case would have course been thrown out in Britain but not just on technicalities. The prosecution did not even present evidence proving rape let alone who the attacker was.   
And a British laboratory which later conducted tests could not provide a DNA from sperm which was suspicious. 
“I have spoken to Australian Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC) which is willing to intervene.  My feeling is that the two young Burmese rather than being executed would now be suing the authorities in a western country – and their lawyers should do that in Thailand.”

The team has advised defence lawyers to immediately demand that Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health’s Bureau of Laboratory Quality Standards (BLQS) investigate the conduct of the Royal Thai Police Forensics Laboratory during the murder investigation.

They believe their Court Appeal may simply be whitewashed in the Thai Justice system to ‘save face’.

APLAC has powers to suspend accreditation for all Thai laboratories until the matter is resolved – ending the certification of all Thai export products. It is responsible for the supervision of laboratories it accredits to operate under ISO 17025 andards. It monitors all investigations and BLQS will have to stand by its findings.

Added Jane Taupin:


 “I think it is preferable that an independent, 'outside' body, and thus an "international organization", do a review of the methods and procedures and reporting of DNA profiles.”  

As well as APLAC, she said: "The U.S. accreditation body ANAB could be specifically tasked with the purpose of reviewing case records and DNA results and whether they accord with "international standards".

The team of experts has advised the Thai defence team in drafting the complaint letter. 

If it is not presented, as Thai lawyers may be fearful of the Thai government which funds 'The Lawyers Council of Thailand',  then the two defendants can appoint a representative to do so for them.

There are further  concerns that the defence team did not understand the value of foreign expert help and how it would affect the case.
UK Scenes of Crime Officer in Koh Tao. What was needed
was a Home Office DNA specialist



The international team’s examination of evidence also calls in to question the work done by Scotland Yard team sent to Thailand by Prime Minister David Cameron to observe the Thai police investigation – following which both victims’ families put out statements supporting the Thai police.


 “We cannot understand what they were doing for a month, “said the Commonwealth barrister. "But statements put out prejudicing the trial must have come from Scotland Yard advice.”

The DNA evidence was crucial in a case where it is widely believed that the young Burmese Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin were framed to take the fall for local ‘mafia’ and influential figures.

A fourth member of the team Australian forensic scientist Brian MacDonald who queried the police labs misuse of equipment was not available.

A recent documentary ‘Murder in Paradise’ on Channel 4 UK outlined some of the concerns in the case and other not properly explained tourist deaths on Koh Tao.



ThaiPBS recorded General Panya Mamen's promise of no scapegoats

The former Regional Provincial Police Chief covering the Samui Archipelago and Southern Thailand General Panya Mamen was transferred from his position after announcing early in the inquiry that the brother and son of a village head man on the island would be arrested and saying he wanted to re-assure the public there would be no scapegoats.



'Anonymous Video'

But at the moment the experts say they would be happy with a re-trial and have provided the defence team with a list of ten breaches of accepted international standards from basic failure to provide records as to how they came to their conclusions, providing no chains of evidence, and drawing completely erroneous conclusions from the data they had gathered.

Below: Murder in Paradise trailer
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JAIL SENTENCE CONFIRMED FOR THAI WIFE OF BRITISH FUGITIVE DARREN OXLEY

April 27, 2016, 7:38 am
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BUT WILL SHE PAY THE 18 MILLION BAHT (US$1/2 MILLION) DAMAGES?

EIGHT YEARS ON AND STILL NOT IN JAIL IN A CASE 'FAST-TRACKED' BY A THAI PRIME MINISTER.

Janpen
The wife of a British fugitive from justice has had her 33 year 6 month jail sentence - for conspiracy to murder one of her husband’s clients in a property development in Thailand -confirmed by the Thai Appeal Court.

Janpen Oxley, the wife of fugitive Darren Oxley, has also been ordered by the Provincial Court in Prachuap Khiri Kan Province of Thailand to pay 18 million baht - just over US$500,000 – damages to the wife, now widow, of former US Marine Donald Whiting, who was gunned down while in dispute with her husband.

She is reported to be appealing against both damages awards and criminal conviction to higher courts.

Janpen’s husband Darren Oxley fled a drugs trial at Sheffield Crown Court in 2001 where he was accused of being the ring-leader of a drugs gang operating in clubs in Sheffield city centre. 

A warrant for his arrest was issued and Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service told the Sheffield Star that extradition proceedings had been unsuccessful*.  They were not however unsuccessful in Thailand where there is no record of extradition proceedings having been started.

South Yorkshire police declined to comment and when questions were submitted under the Freedom of Information Act police also declined to answer on the basis that it was an ‘ongoing operational matter’.

Oxley Mansion
Oxley was successfully allowed to bring in a large amount of cash to Thailand, specifically the resort town of Hua Hin, where he built a large home ‘Oxley Mansion’ and set up the property development company ‘Oxley Homes’.



George Mastronikolis - Hua Hin Today

Donald Whiting and his wife Dolly Samson had had major problems with Hua Hin’s notorious foreign property developers and had paid cash over to Greek developer Georgiou Mastronikolis, the foreigner behind the Hua Hin Today newspaper for a house he never built, before opting for an ‘Oxley Home’.

Donald before his death
But they became seriously embroiled in a serious dispute with Oxley over water and electricity charges which he had allegedly hiked.  The row went viral locally on the net and was damaging Oxley’s business.

Donald Whiting was scheduled to sue Oxley’s company in the Prachuap Khiri Kan provincial court – but in October 2008 three days before the hearing he was ambushed outside his house.
Donald Whiting took six bullets and was paralysed for life. He died earlier this year.

At the time Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajjiva demanded a speedy resolution to the case.

Before he died he said:“I had never spoken to Janpen Oxley ever. My row was with Oxley and I had complained on the internet about his shoddy services. Why are people like Darren Oxley allowed to wander freely."

Both Darren Oxley and Georgiou ‘George’ Mastronikolis  heavily courted local officials and police in Hua Hin, hosting dinners, and in Oxley’s case parties in his Huh Hin Mansion.


George Mastronikolis (left) dining with Hua Hin officials and announcing gifts to the municipality


In 2014 the Supreme Court confirmed  a  7 million baht damages award to Dolly Samson and Donald “Biff’ Whiting against  Mastronikolis but he has yet to pay a penny.

The Greek national has however4 a number of creditors and bankruptcy proceedings are reported to be in process. If a court rules bankruptcy his status in Thailand would be revoked and he can be held in custody.


FOOTNOTE* In all drugs cases involving Britons sought in Thailand that I have reported no extraditions proceedings have been required. The Thai authorities have merely deported the alleged offenders. These include Walter ‘Whacky’ Douglas who was deported at the request of UK Police on passport charges.
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BRITISH COUPLE BEATEN IN PACK ATTACK IN HUA HIN, THAILAND

April 28, 2016, 8:36 am
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COUPLE AND SON BEATEN TO THE GROUND IN LATE NIGHT INCIDENT


A vicious attack by Thais on a British tourist family in Thailand all of whom were hospitalised has been caught on CCTV and put up on YouTube.

British woman in light hair ttakes full blow to her face before going down. Their thrree motionless bodies were
left on the ground as their attackers sauntered off.


The family, a couple with their grown up son were attacked in the Thai beach resort of Hua Hin, where the King of Thailand keeps his summer palace. 

All three were attacked by a group of Thai men after reportedly coming out of a bar.

The woman was also kicked on the ground. The incident took place in a street of small bars called Soi Bintabaht.

A witness on the Hua Hin internet foreigners forum calling himself ‘Usual Suspect’ reported that a group of Thai youths had been looking for trouble in the area during the Songkran New Year water splashing holiday on April 13th.

“The girls in the bar I was in all night waved goodbye to 2Two elderly customers and their son and my wife & I followed only seconds after them. 
Within 20-30 meters of leaving the bar the Thais were punching the 65yr-old-lady in the face! 
The elderly gentleman was down on the floor and their son was beaten very badly! 
“At this point I caught up to the scene and pushed one of the youths away from the woman. I got severely punched & kicked for my troubles, but felt the need to protect this frail lady. 
"The three of them are still hospitalised and one will need cosmetic dental work done, 
“Not one person (other than myself) came to aid these old folk and they ended up laid in the road bleeding.so if you're still out in the wee hours tonight please be alert. 
These pockets of youths were intent on causing harm abd did blend in with all others beforehand.”




Pack attacks are frequent in Thailand but are rarely reported in the international media. 

They often happen after a tourist queries and refuses to pay a bill and sometimes when tourists are inebriated and are unaware to avoid any sort of confrontation in the country.

Attacks can also follow perceived insults and often happen if a bar girl is short-changed.

Most often Thais who are not involved in the argument will join in and attack the foreigners.

Hua Hin Police say that have one man in custody and are looking for two others.

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'PACK ATTACKS IN THAILAND' - NOT THE WORST THING THAT CAN HAPPEN

April 29, 2016, 9:08 am
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BUT - AS OLD AS THE HILLS

The CTTV video of a family from Wales being viciously beaten in Thailand which went around the world yesterday is unfortunately not an incident which is new to Thailand although the video was still shocking.


Directr of the 'Stationery Office'
The story made in print and TV media not only saturation coverage in Britain but also in the US and Australia and Europe in website publications from Newsweek to the Malta Times.

In Thailand the English language press – Thailand’s window to the world – seemed rather hesitant. 

It finally made the Nation newspaper’s website today (Friday 29th) at 1am.  The Bangkok Post ran the story yesterday copied  in the ‘Learning Thai’ section.

(The foreigners on the Learning Thai section get to sneak in these stories for emphasis)



The newspaper finally fully caught up leading today with a picture of one of the assailants, the youngest aged 20, publicly apologising to the Thai people and the family but not necessarily in that order but we still get no idea of who these attackers are.




While in the social media in forums in Thailand as usual there was a mixed reaction.  But in general those horrified by the incident outnumbered by others who seem to think the foreigners started it all – because they must have done something to upset the Thais.


Learning English in the Bangkok Post

Some were as usual quite vociferous suggesting as usual that the complainers ‘go home’ thus proving the adage ‘You can fool some of the people all of the time.’

In fact the real issue is not who is to blame. In many of the attacks the tourist may indeed do something wrong, particularly if they are drunk. They certainly misjudge situations.

What they do not realise is the level of wanton violence they will unleash and how many people will join in.

In fact the British family involved Lewis and Rose Owen, aged 68 and 65, and their son, also Lewis, aged 43 loved Thailand and came almost every year. The son now says none of them will return to Thailand.


ROSE GETS FLOWERS FROM THE TOURIST AUTHORITY


They have met one of its darker sides. It’s a side one can miss for years as a tourist. But it’s always there and has probably been exacerbated by continued attempts by the government to push and push tourism to such an extent that it is destroying the country and now many Thais have contempt for tourists.  This of course has happened to various extents in tourism destinations all over the world.  

But a Thai pack attack is as old as the hills.  They were first described by Anna Leonowens, the nanny in the Hollywood musical ‘The King and I” . The British nanny to King Mongkut of Thailand described an unprovoked pack  attack on her Indian servant. Thais did not like the colour of his skin.

Pack attacks are quite common in Thailand. They invariably take place in ‘red light’ areas . These areas are generally safe and indeed so welcoming and friendly that foreigners do not even consider that they could attract the same sort or ne’er do wells as similar venues  doing other parts of the world.

That is in fact part of the ‘smoke and mirrors’ of Thailand. Everything seems ‘sabai’ (happy) and ‘sanook’ (fun).  It is not really a ‘What you see is what you get’ country. But the illusion is nice.

Pack attacks can happen elsewhere, where tourists are vulnerable. At every Full Moon Party on the island of Koh Phangan for instance there are always groups in the shadows ready to pounce on stragglers. 
Jack Cole and April

Incidents there are so frequent they are rarely reported. And island police do not publicise stuff which could affect tourism.

In Ao Nang in Krabi Province of Thailand Jack Cole was stabbed multiple times in a pack attack from Thais who lay in wait for him and his girlfriend.  There was no apparent motive.

On Koh Samui, one of the most popular destination for Brits in Soi Green Mango, where the main club the Green Mango, is half owned by police, I have watched as a young Briton was beaten to a pulp and bottled by a group of Thais and left unconscious on the ground after apparently insulting a motorcycle taxi driver over the fare he wanted to charge.  Did I go to his help?   No I would have not stood a chance against the pack. I had already seen other pack attacks by then.


Green Mango Club


When I married in Thailand I had my ‘stag do’ in Soi Cowboy in Bangkok. It was by no means a rowdy affair, more of a middle aged bar crawl, and two nephews had flown over from Denmark and the UK for the wedding.




Unpaid bill in Soi Cowboy

The best man held the kitty but at some stage the young lads on their first visit to Thailand became separated from the group and remained in a bar for which the bill had already been paid.

It appears they left the bar not paying for their  (further) drinks (thinking they had been paid for). There appeared to be no room for negotiation. 

 They were attacked by a horde of motorcycle taxi drivers at the end of the Soi.  My brother heard the commotion, tried to save his son, and got struck with a baseball bat.  Two were treated in hospital and one section of the wedding party thus looked like they had come from Gallipoli.

The people doing the attacking were not those losing money through unpaid drinks – an indication that some Thais at least are willing to crack the head open of a foreigner with little need for motive.  

But bar bouncers will happily join in and beat a drunken tourist as in this incident from Phuket last year below.


And diplomats have made official complaints of pack attacks against tourists by gangs of taxi drivers over fares on Phuket


The Hua Hin video shows people not involved in the original confrontation kicking two British pensioners in the face after they had already been knocked down

Despite Thailand having one of the largest per capita police forces in the world – there is rarely a policeman around for these occasions. I have never seen any being broken up by police.

In the Hua Hin incident police told the Bangkok Post they were short staffed. Hua Hin does not have the rowdy reputation of Pattaya or Patong Beach, Phuket, but it is not as quiet as some people make out.


Keith Burbage and top icture
It is one of the centres for property fraud on foreigners. One such victim was Keith Burbage a Briton who made his fortune buying into HM Stationery Office when it was denationalised.  He bought a home in Hua Hin which he never got., instead being offered something else.

He was ambushed in Hua Hin by Thais almost certainly commissioned to carry out the act and these were his injuries.

The fact that there is a tacit admittance that violence can happen to foreigners is shown by the plan by the National Tourist Police Chief in 2008 to issue ‘alarm whistles ‘ to female tourists after a series of attacks and murder of Swedish  tourist 27-year-old Hannah Baklund in Thailand.   
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But his concern was not so much Thailand’s red light areas.

"We will issue the whistles first in risky areas such as beaches, valleys, mountains, national parks, waterfalls and other risky spots,"  said Commander Choochart Suwannakom. (New York Times/SMH)

The Tourist Police chief also suggested wrist bands for all tourists so they could be return to their hotel, or a hospital, when they were involved in an incident after which they could not speak.

International disquiet was heightened in 2014 by the murders of backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller on the southern island of Koh Tao.

Now most western governments warn about the dangers to tourists in Thailand in their travel advisories, but they can be often couched in terms inoffensive to the Thai government.


Working as a foreign correspondent in Thailand covering amongst many things the increasing number of foreign criminals making Thailand their home my concern was not about ‘pack attacks’. It was meeting foreign criminals arm in arm with bent Thai police generals.

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BOILER ROOM WARNING – WESTRATE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT CLONE

May 1, 2016, 7:14 am
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DON’T LOSE YOUR CASH TO THESE POSEURS

This is a warning about a virtual company called Westrate Capital Management a boiler room operation which is currently targeting punters in Bangkok and possibly the world at the moment.

This company claims to be registered with FINRA  -The Financial Industry Regulating Authority and  SIPC the Securities Investor Protection Corporation . It is not.


They claim to have offices in Madison Avenue. New York, and the International Commerce Centre in Kowloon, Hong Kong.  Don’t waste your journey.  They have taken the name from a genuine but small company based in Illinois, USA owned by Aaron Westrate.


Currently they are touting a product Solarcity Corp. A little traded (so far) NASDAQ stock. But there are bigger companies with similar names.

But think of the money to be made installing solar panels in countries near the Equator - especially those which have been suffering a heat wave!

The oik on the other end of a VOIP call might sound convincing. 

Tell him Andrew Drummond sends his regards and tell him that you know he is not in a full serviced skyscraper office but in a shared room in Onnut.
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