What can be learnt from the Koh Tao Murders?

What are Thailand's real dangers?

Updated: 8th October 2014

The tragic deaths of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller on Koh Tao last month made headlines across the world. It led newspapers and tourists to wonder - 'How could these brutal murders take place on an idyllic island in the Land of Smiles?'The answer to this question requires consideration of Thailand's less pleasant realties.

Thailand is dangerous

The reality of life in Thailand is far removed from the idyllic picture-perfect images the TAT promote across the world. Yes, Thai people are friendly and good-natured but Thai society does have a dark, sinister side. This can be seen in rival college violence, motorcycle gang culture, road rage confrontations, tourist scams, drunken assaults and the acts of jilted lovers. Watch the morning news on Thai TV and you'll see enough to shatter the TAT's marketing images.

Guns are another big issue in Thailand. Gun ownerships in Thailand is the highest in Asia with only Pakistan even close to competing for top spot. Not only are there a lot of guns in the country, they are also regularly used for crime and violence. According to a UN report in 2011, gun crime in Thailand is on par with that in South Africa and Colombia !

And it's not just violence and guns - Thailand's roads are perilously dangerous, the Kingdom's danger rating recently overtook Iran and now only Namibia stands in the way of Thailand's roads being crowned the most dangerous in the world !

Thailand's police do things their way

Any westerner following the Thai Police's handling of this high profile murder case will be shocked about the procedures employed by the boys in brown.

Think 'Bones', 'CSI', 'NCIS' and then turn everything on its head - open crime scene for tourists and the media to wander through, leaked evidence, conflicting information, witness bribes and safe-house integrations.

For an high profile example of how the Thai Police do things ‘their way', just take a look at the murder case of Shelly Ann Duncan, a young Thai-American who was brutually murdered in the late eighties.

The Thai police do things their way, it's as simple as that. Furthermore, they don't show any signs of changing and why should they when they actually get praised for working in this manner. The Prime Minister was quick to congratulate the Boys in Brown for an outstanding job and said the officers involved would be rewarded.

Business done Kamnan style

Not a reference to Korean pop culture but rather the Thai term for the Village Headmen or Subdistrict Headman. Central government appointed Village Headmen towards the end of the 19th Century with the aim of these individuals implementing central government policies. However, these positions have more in common with feudalism than modern democracy. In recent times central government has tried to diminish the power of these headmen but with little success. Village Heads still very much run things, on their terms, in local communities.

The Kamnan's family in Koh Tao was in the media on various occasions during the murder investigation; Hannah and David were last seen in a bar owned by the headman's family, the Burmese 'suspects' both worked in businesses owned by the family and a friend of the victims, Sean McAnna, accused 'Island Mafia' of threatening to kill him.

Migrant workers in Thailand

Burmese migrant workers in Thailand get a really rough ride. The sooner the political and economic situation in their home country improves the better, so they no longer need to endure such demeaning treatment.
It's estimated 5,000 Burmese nationals work on Koh Tao, with up to 2,000 of these working illegally but paying monthly protection money. An NGO based in Thailand, the Myanmar Migrant Labour Association, reported that some of these workers were beaten during police integrations.

A couple of days ago the Thai police confirmed that two slightly-built Burmese workers had confessed to murdering Hannah and David. Their confessions were taken in the absence of them having any legal representatives because, according to police, they didn't want any.

Thaivisa a forum for justice and civil rights !?!

Social media over the past week has been busy with heated discussion about these tragic murders and the apprehension of the 'perpetrators'. Nowhere has this debate been more fervent than on Thaivisa.com. I usually find Thaivisa rather depressing with all its bickering and negativity but over the past few days it has been buzzing with debates on justice, transparency and civil rights. Keep it up !

A Modern Reality

Thailand is an amazing country to live and work in but it is far removed from the TAT's postcard images. The reality is that Thailand is a rapidly growing nation undergoing dramatic social, political and economic change. It's important that visitors to Thailand have a realistic understanding of this and not just the one dimensional image the TAT promotes in its endless pursuit of foreign currency.

Teacher Daniel
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Koh Tao Murders
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/03/burmese-men-arrested-murder-british-backpackers-thailand

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/11145536/Thai-police-deny-cover-up-of-Britons-murders.html

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/crime/435888/koh-tao-torture-alleged

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/forum/18-thailand-news/

Thailand's Roads
http://asiancorrespondent.com/119892/study-thailand-roads-2nd-most-dangerous-in-the-world/

Gun Ownership in Thailand
http://www.stasiareport.com/the-big-story/asia-report/thailand/story/thailand-gun-laws-strict-ownership-high-20130808

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_of_guns_per_capita_by_country

Shelly Ann Duncan
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/THE-MURDER-OF-SHERRY-ANN-DUNCAN-A-travesty-of-just-86893.html

Comments

In my opinion homicide rates in Thailand might be 2-5 times higher than official data suggest. Many homicides (my own experience) are simply not brought to justice. Just "accidents". Police lazyness/corruption, lose-face culture and people afraid of revenge, absolute lack of confidence in any authority etc. By the way, I think in many other not-too-well organized countries the situation probably is the same as in Thailand.

By Jan, Prakhonchai (17th November 2014)

I'm so sickened by the scapegoating those Burmese have to endure. Now the real murder won't even be investigated, and the Thai people will continue to revile the Burmese. There's a famous quote about how one act of injustice threatens justice everywhere. Time to go?

By Graeme, Bangkok (23rd October 2014)

You need to do a little basic research. The homicide rate in Thailand is about 4 per 100,000, about the same as the US and about 37th in the world. It is *nowhere* near the level of South Africa or Colombia. The murder rate in South Africa, for example, is well over 8 times higher, as is Colombia and every country in Central America. These are figures that can be looked up on the WHO web site in a few minutes, or even on Wikipedia. Many countries in south east Asia have higher or comparable rates - Myanmar for example. Moreover, there is *no* correlation between gun ownership rates and murders : see Switzerland and Finland, the 2nd and 3rd highest rates in the world. For a developing country, in sum, Thailand is relatively safe - though admittedly it is filled with hysterical white people.

By Lawrence, Bangkok (21st October 2014)

Excellent article...Teachers, when next in front of your students, ask for a show of hands as to how many guns their family owns...My findings...P6, 24 kids, 16+ said they did, some had more than 1 gun ...P5, 18 kids, 14+...The Thais, a violent people? Absolutely, especially when alcohol/drugs are added to the mix...Why do I love it hear?

By Daniel James, Bangkok (11th October 2014)