Crime

Briton Christopher Ware Called Back to Koh Tao by Thai Police

British tourist Christopher Alan Ware (right) is questioned by a Thai police officer on Koh Tao

BANGKOK – Police investigating the killing of two young British tourists, David Miller and Hannah Witheridge on Koh Tao Island in Thailand have reportedly questioned a British man believed to have shared a room with one of the murdered backpackers.

Christopher Alan Ware , who was allowed to leave the island of Koh Tao on Tuesday after being spoken to by police, returned at the request of officers who wanted to question him further and take a DNA sample, according to police.

A Thai villager lays flowers during a memorial service for two murdered British tourists at the crime scene on a beach of Koh Tao resort island

Prachum Ruangthong, the head of police on Koh Tao, said there are a number of possible suspects for the killing of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, whose battered bodies were found in the early hours of Monday morning. The bodies of the Britons were flown to Bangkok for forensic tests.

Forensic tests have revealed Mr Miller died as a result of severe blows to the head and drowning, Police Colonel Dr Pornchai Sutheerakune, commander of Institute of Forensic Medicine, said today.

He said water was found in Mr Miller’s lungs and that his body showed signs of being dragged, with injuries to the back of his hands.

An autopsy on Miss Witheridge’s body found that she had also suffered trauma to her head and revealed evidence of sexual activity shortly before she died.

However, Maj Gen Pornchai said the tests did not indicate that she had been raped.

Forensic investigators are awaiting the results of DNA tests on a blonde hair found in the Witheridge’s hand and traces of semen.

‘The results are expected within 24 hours so everything will become clear tomorrow (Thursday),’ Pornchai said.

Mr Ware was reportedly stopped by police – along with a man believed to be his brother, James – at Suvarnabhumi International airport last night before boarding a London-bound flight.

Mr Ware left the holiday island of Koh Tao yesterday but returned this morning in response to a request from police, it has been reported

Thailand’s Deputy Police Chief General Somyot Pumpunmuang was quoted by the Nation newspaper in Bangkok that the men were being asked to stay for 48 hours.

‘We have asked the British Embassy for their co-operation.’

It’s understood the brothers shared a room with Mr Miller at the Ocean View Bungalows, where Miss Witheridge was also staying.

Region 8 Police Commander Panya Mamen told PhuketWan: ‘David Miller’s luggage contains a pair of bloodstained pants, which adds to the mystery.

‘There was also blonde hair on a mobile telephone police have now located.’

A spokesman for the British Embassy in Bangkok, which released a statement yesterday saying they had no information to suggest any British national is a suspect in the investigation, confirmed that this is still the case.

He added: ‘The investigation is a matter for the Thai authorities.’

Later, he was taken to the beach where the murder took place, reports local news source PhuketWan

Meanwhile, Maj Gen. Pornchai stressed police also want to question a Asian man captured on CCTV running in the direction where the bodies of the young tourists were later discovered. They have also said they wanted to question a musician who performed in the bars, and members of the bar staff.

Dozens of officers have been scouring Koh Tao, speaking to locals, foreign visitors and migrant workers form Burma. At least six migrant workers were questioned and later released as part of the inquiry.

Mr Miller, from Jersey, and Ms Witheridge, from Great Yarmouth, had travelled to the island separately. Ms Witheridge, who was doing post-graduate work at the the University of Essex in Colchester, was travelling with three female friends and had only arrived on Koh Tao, or Turtle Island, three days ago.

Both she and Mr Miller were staying at the Ocean View Bungalows. Mr Ware was sharing a room with Mr Miller.

On Tuesday, the families of the Britons paid tribute in statements issued through the British government. The family of Ms Witheridge, whose Facebook page suggested she had a keen interest in horses, described her as a “a beautiful, intelligent, loving young woman who poured joy into the lives of all who knew her”.

They added: “She was selfless and caring and made each and every day that little bit more wonderful.”

Mr Miller, from Jersey, was studying civil and structural engineering at Leeds University. He had completed an internship in Australia and was spending some weeks traveling in South East Asia. He had been due to leave Thailand on Tuesday.

Crime

Police Officer Being Ordained at Temple Arrested for Running Scam Call Center

Police in Northern Thailand have arrested a fellow officer as he was being ordained at a temple in Ngao district of neighbouring Lampang province.

Pol Lt Col Bandit Khonkan chief inspector from the Hang Dong police station was disrobed and taken to the Chang Puak station in Chiang Mai. He was arrested on charges of running a call centre scam gang in Chiang Mai Province.

According to Thai Media Chiang Mai Provincial Police Region 5 obtained an arrest warrant for Pol Lt Col Bandit on Friday from the Chiang Mai Provincial Court for procuring illegal telecom equipment, setting up a station and using public airwaves to run a telecommunications business without permission.

Pol Lt Col Bandit reportedly told investigators that he was not the ringleader and was only a member of the gang with Chinese partners.

His arrest followed the apprehension of his 26-year-old daughter, Miss Wanuchapond, 26, and three others during raids at three housing projects in Chiang Mai on Friday, Pol Maj Gen Weerachon Boontawee, deputy chief of Provincial Police Region 5 told Thai media.

During the raids police police discovered around 12 GSM gateways, or SIM boxes, which are devices used for converting cellular networks into mobile phone numbers used domestically.

The chief inspectors daughter Miss Wanuchapond told the arresting officers that she was paid 8,000 baht a month at each of the three locations for renting thr rooms and monitoring devices.

She claimed she had no idea what the devices were and accepted the job because the pay was attractive.

Police investigators working with telecom regulators used a special tracking device to monitor the gang’s communications and learned that its base was in Myanmar opposite Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai.

The call center gang used the GSM gateways to make calls over the internet to scam people in Thailand out of million of baht.

The GSM gateways transmitting signals via SIM boxes to convert them into domestic phone numbers, duping victims into thinking they were being called from Thai government agencies.

Pol Maj Gen Weerachon said that each SIM box held 32 SIM cards, with a capacity of up to 300,000 calls a month. The seized devices had made fraudulent calls over 3.6 million times.

He said the their investigation is ongoing and they are working to track down the remaining conspirators, including Chinese and other Thai suspects.

Authorities are still deciding whether Pol Lt Col Bandit will be dismissed from the force, he said, adding that so far, no other officers are known to have been involved.

Police in Chiang Rai Launch Crackdown on Cyber Criminals in Golden Triangle

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin has authorized the establishment of an emergency cyber center operated by the Royal Thai Police to combat transnational crimes committed by call center gangs along the Thai border in Chiang Rai province.

On July 19, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin directed the Center to combat information technology crimes. The Royal Thai Police (Royal Thai Police) will crack down on call center gangs in Myanmar, Laos, and along the border.

His directive comes as call center gangs ratchet up their scams to defraud people of their money, causing concern among Thais and jeopardizing the country’s economic and social stability.

Related Police News:

Machete Wielding Man Shot an Killed by Police in Chiang Rai

https://www.chiangraitimes.com/chiangrai-news/machete-wielding-man-shot-an-killed-by-police-in-chiang-rai/

Crime

Thai Immigration Police Arrest Colombian Tourists Over Home Invasions

Immigration police officers have arrested four Colombian nationals in connection with a series of home burglaries at luxury housing complexes in the Bangkok metropolitan area and Chiang Buri Province.

Pol Maj Gen Panthana Nuchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, told a press briefing that three of the suspects were apprehended in Nonthaburi Province and the fourth in South Pattaya, Chon Buri Province.

According to the Bangkok Post, the Colombians were charged with stealing conspiracy and seized around 3 million baht (US$82,500.00).

According to Pol Maj Gen Panthana, the criminals rode motorcycles through housing estates, scoping out the properties and waiting for the owners to depart before committing their crimes.

He stated that all four of the accused denied any involvement in the home break-ins, but the arresting squad discovered evidence that implicated them.

Police called to home invasion

Meanwhile, police were dispatched to a luxury housing development in Tambon Nong Prue, Chonburi Province, after a Chinese man was attacked during a house invasion.

When they arrived, they discovered the house owner, Mr. Qian Peng Yi, visibly scared and with marks from being tied up with a cable. He informed police that three Chinese males broke into his home at 9 p.m., one of whom brandished a gun at him and directed him to his bedroom.

They bound his hands and feet, gagged him with fabric, taped his head, and forced him into the bed. The intruders then attempted to compel him into transferring 10 million baht in cryptocurrencies to them, endangering the life of his 33-year-old cousin who was in a second-floor bedroom.

While they scoured the house in search of riches, Mr. Peng Yi managed to flee and hide; he subsequently observed them leave with his cousin. Officials investigated the property and analyzed security camera footage from the incident and surrounding areas.

Around 9 p.m., a 30-year-old van driver came at the Bang Lamung police station after being contacted by an agency to carry Chinese customers from Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The driver informed authorities that he was supposed to pick them up at a motel about a kilometer from the Chinese businessman’s home. He then drove them to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, arriving at 1 a.m. and receiving 1,800 baht.

The driver took a snapshot of the group smoking at the airport gate and identified one of them as the victim’s cousin. Police suspected coordination between her and the three suspects in her cousin’s heist, who all departed Thailand on the same aircraft.

Other Bangkok News:

Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel

Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel

Crime

Son of Thailand’s Leading Legal Scholar on Corruption Arrested for Running Online Gambling Network

The son of a former senator and leading economist and expert on corruption and gambling in Thailand has been arrested for on charges of running an online gambling network and its payment system.

Police from Thailand’s Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) have confiscated assets worth more than (US$ 11.1 million) 400 million baht.

Narote Piriyarangsan, 33, was arrested following crackdowns in three sites around the city, according to Pol Maj Gen Athip Pongsiwapai, commander of the police Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD).

Mr Narote’s father, Sangsit Piriyarangsan, is an economist who has written articles and books about corruption and gambling. He was one of the appointed senators that were investigating the government’s intention to legalize casino gaming before their terms expired.

Police also detained 39-year-old Narayut Narakaew, the owner of the gambling website 69pgslot.com. The Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the couple for operating an internet gambling service and money laundering.

According to the Bangkok Post, police seized two desktop computers, one laptop computer, 14 mobile phones, 21 bank passbooks, 53 ATM cards, and four high-end cars — a Ferrari 926 GTS, an Aston Martin, a Lexus, and a Subaru — totaling more than 400 million baht.

Police launched the inquiry after discovering the online gambling site, which accepted funds via an automatic deposit-withdrawal system through bank accounts and deposits in the AskMePay system. Players scanned the VPay QR code as well as the QR codes for Heng Online 888 or Heng Pay Company.

Police also discovered that payments received via QR code scans were transferred to the account of Heng Pay Co and then to the gambling website’s mule accounts using AskMePay, which did not use banks’ face recognition scanning. An inquiry indicated a monthly turnover of approximately 5 billion baht.

According to investigators, the website has been up and running for around four years, with the payment mechanism in use for roughly eight months.

According to Pol Maj Gen Athip, Mr Narote owns the gaming website’s payment systems and is the director of Heng Pay Co. After gathering evidence, authorities requested arrest warrants for 14 people.

Thailand does not allow almost any kind of gaming. Even though the law doesn’t say anything specific about online gaming, it is still considered gambling. The country has pretty strict rules about gambling. Thai punters can bet on the national lottery and horse races, but they can’t bet on any other types of games.

But it’s not a secret that there is a huge illegal gaming business in Thailand, even though it’s illegal.

The illegal casinos, online betting shops, underground lotteries, and pop-up bookies that take bets on everything from cockfights to Muay Thai make a shadow economy that is worth billions of dollars every year.