THAILAND-BRITAIN/MURDER-COURT Forensic expert says no DNA link to weapon in Britons' Thai island murder

Record ID: 139997

  • Title: THAILAND-BRITAIN/MURDER-COURT Forensic expert says no DNA link to weapon in Britons' Thai island murder
  • Date: 11th September 2015
  • Summary: KOH SAMUI, THAILAND (SEPTEMBER 11, 2015) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF KOH SAMUI PROVINCIAL COURT SIGN READING (Thai): "KOH SAMUI PROVINCIAL COURT" DEFENSE LAWYER (LEFT), NAKHON CHOMPUCHART, AND MIGRANT ACTIVIST WALKING UP THE STAIRS ACTIVIST WALKING INTO BUILDING NAKHON WALKING INTO BUILDING DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF CENTRAL INSTITUTE OF FORENSIC SCIENCE (CIFS), PORNTHIP ROJANASUNAND, ARRIVING AT COURT PORNTHIP WALKING INTO COURT BUILDING PRISON CAR REVERSING INTO PARKING AREA MYANMAR NATIONALS SUSPECTED OF MURDER, WIN ZAW HTUN (FIRST) AND ZAW LIN (SECOND), STEPPING DOWN FROM TRUCK AND WALKING TO DETENTION CELL PORNTHIP WALKING OUT OF COURT BUILDING AFTER COURT ADJOURNS (SOUNDBITE) (Thai) DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF CENTRAL INSTITUTE OF FORENSIC SCIENCE (CIFS), PORNTHIP ROJANASUNAND, SAYING: "Scientists at the Central Institute of Forensic Science found DNA evidence of at least two persons (on the garden hoe), both male. We have compared them and found no match with the suspects." PORNTHIP BEING INTERVIEWED BY MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (Thai) DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF CENTRAL INSTITUTE OF FORENSIC SCIENCE (CIFS), PORNTHIP ROJANASUNAND, SAYING: REPORTER: "The DNA samples were collected by police?" "Yes, they (the suspects' DNA samples) were collected by police." REPORTER: "The comparison doesn't match all three of them?" "None of them matched." PORNTHIP LEAVING COURT NAKHON LEAVING COURT VARIOUS OF MOTHERS OF MYANMAR SUSPECTS STANDING
  • Embargoed: 26th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Thailand
  • Country: Thailand
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA4Q9P0WDVYV11EREYPT68XPRVD
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Independent forensics tests on a garden hoe Thai police believe was used to kill two British backpackers on a holiday island show no matches to the DNA of two Myanmar migrant workers accused of their murder, a forensic expert said on Friday (September 11).
    The killings last year of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, raised questions about Thailand's safety for tourists, the competence of its police and its treatment of migrant workers.
    Lawyers for the accused Myanmar men, Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, both 22, have accused police of incompetence and mishandling of evidence central to their defence and sought help from Thailand's foremost forensics expert, Pornthip Rojanasunand, to scrutinise evidence.
    Defence lawyer Nakhon Chompuchart said the court on Friday heard testimony from Pornthip's team confirming DNA was found on the hoe police said was the murder weapon, but it did not match that of his clients, or Maung Maung, a friend of the accused and a prosecution witness.
    "Scientists at the Central Institute of Forensic Science found DNA evidence of at least two persons (on the garden hoe), both male. We have compared them and found no match with the suspects," Pornthip said after the court adjourned on Koh Samui, a neighbouring island to Koh Tao, where the Britons were killed.
    Police have given conflicting statements about the DNA, saying some was lost or "used up", then later denying that and saying the DNA samples were accounted for.
    Pornthip also confirmed that the suspects' DNA samples were the ones that police had collected.
    "Yes, they (the suspects' DNA samples) were collected by police," she said. "None of them matched."
    The court in July ordered a reexamination of the police evidence by the justice ministry's central forensic institute, led by Pornthip, who has clashed with police numerous times before when her examinations exposed flaws in their cases.
    The bodies of Miller and Witheridge were found a year ago on a beach on Koh Tao, a small island in the Gulf of Thailand popular with backpackers and divers.
    Post-mortem examinations showed both suffered severe head wounds and Witheridge was raped.
    Police said in October the accused men had admitted to killing the backpackers. But they later retracted their confessions saying they had been made under duress.
    The case continues.
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