Democratic Voice of Burma |
| Scotland Yard probes Koh Tao crime scene Posted: 25 Oct 2014 08:16 PM PDT British police made a surprise visit to Koh Tao on Saturday to inspect locations related to the murders of two backpackers, a source said. They arrived on the island by helicopter from Bangkok, accompanied by Jarumporn Suramanee, an adviser to the Thai national police chief, and Suwat Jaengyodsuk, acting deputy commander of Thailand's Metropolitan Police Bureau. Pol Maj Gen Suwat is the chief investigator in the case, having been assigned earlier by national police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang to take over from local officers. Pol Gen Jarumporn is a forensic expert who went to the crime scene days after the murder occurred. The trip was kept secret, with no police officers in Surat Thani province or Provincial Police Region 8 informed. Police based on Koh Tao and neighbouring Koh Phangan were not allowed to join the meeting or take pictures of the visitors. Only one rescue volunteer on Koh Tao was brought in to provide information about the events of Sept 15, when Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were killed, according to the source. Related StoriesThe British team went to Sairee beach were the two were murdered, and inspected the nearby location where the two suspects stayed and were seen playing guitar. They also went to the AC Bar where the two victims had been seen before their deaths, and stopped at a place near the clock tower where police claimed they had found Miller’s mobile phone. They took pictures and asked for information before holding closed-door talks in the meeting room of the Koh Tao municipality before returning to Bangkok. Three Scotland Yard police were believed to be on the trip from Bangkok, joining two others who had come to the island on Friday, according to the source. At least one British officer is a homicide detective and another one is an experienced crime scene expert, another source said. They arrived in Bangkok on Wednesday. Koh Tao mayor Chaiyant Turasakul said he was not aware of the visit and was only ordered to arrange local officials to facilitate their visit. The visit of the British officers is a response to widespread concern about the Thai police investigation into the killings. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha agreed to a request by British Premier David Cameron to allow British police to observe the work of Thai police when the two met at the Asia-Europe Meeting in Milan on Oct 17. Win Zaw Htun and Zaw Lin, two workers from Rakhine state in Burma, have been in custody since 2 October on murder and rape charges. Police said the pair had confessed to the crimes. However, the suspects this week recanted their confessions, claiming they were tortured and their lives were threatened by Thai investigators. Lawyers acting for them have asked the Office of the Attorney-General to re-investigate all the evidence instead of relying only on the information supplied by police. Prosecutors also have asked the police for more information to support an indictment, saying the initial 300-page investigative report was not complete. The National Human Rights Commission is investigating the torture claims and the Lawyers Council of Thailand has stepped in to offer the two men legal assistance and fight the case.
This article was originally published in the Bangkok Post on 26 October 2014. |
| Posted: 25 Oct 2014 07:56 PM PDT The famed Burmese art of puppetry – yoke thé – will feature at the Harmony World Puppet Carnival in Bangkok. The popular art-form has a long-standing history in Burmese culture and was once reserved as the entertainment fit for royalty. The Rangoon-based Htwe Oo Myanmar Traditional Puppet Theatre will represent Burma at the event, which stretches across ten days from 1– 10 November, and will include a line-up of some 114 performances from 66 countries. Khin Maung Htwe, the art director of the Htwe Oo theatre, said that his team is scheduled to deliver a one-hour performance from 8– 9pm on 2 November. This will however be a shorter version of the traditional yoke thé, which usually lasts throughout the whole night. Khin Maung Htwe added that the Burmese marionette troupe will perform the performance in English, Thai and Burmese languages. "We plan to open our session with apyodaw yein [dance] and also feature a drama about Thambula, a noble woman. We shrank it down into a 25-minute segment," said the art director. The show will end with a dance by U Shwe Yoe and Daw Moe. The once lost art of yoke thé is now regaining popularity with the tourist influx into Burma. With themes ranging from Buddhist and Hindu mythology to that of love stories, prince and princesses packed together with poems and ballads, a Burmese yoke thé typically exhibits folklore and drama at its best. The Harmony World Puppet Carnival was originally held annually in the Czech Republic, but later was exported across the world. In 2013 it was held in Indonesia. The Htwe Oo Myanmar troupe is also planning to showcase a performance for Burmese migrant workers in Bangkok's Mahachai during its trip to Thailand. |
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