Forensic team to testify in Koh Tao trial
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Aust expert among defence witnesses
Officials from the Central Institute of Forensic Science (CIFS) will testify today in the defence of two Myanmar suspects who stand accused of murdering two British tourists in Koh Tao.
Khunying Porntip Rojanasunan, director general of the CIFS, said yesterday three CIFS members would testify because they took part in the process of DNA testing and physical examination of the defendants.
“Two of them are doctors and the other is a lab technician,” she said.
The CIFS team found that the DNA on the hoe – believed to have been the murder weapon – does not belong to the two Myanmar nationals who are standing trial.
The chief judge had allowed Porntip to retest the hoe at the request of defence lawyers, who are working pro-bono on behalf of the 22-year-old bar workers, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo.
The Koh Samui Provincial Court is looking into the high-profile case after public prosecutors arraigned the two Myanmar migrant workers for the murders.
The murders took place in September last year on Koh Tao, Surat Thani province.
Following weeks of investigations and DNA tests, police arrested and charged the two Myanmar suspects.
Despite initially confessing to |the murders, the two defendents now insist they are innocent and that they had been forced into confessing.
Nakhon Chomphuchat, a lawyer for the defendants, yesterday revealed that a DNA-collection expert from Australia would testify in court tomorrow.
Thai police and public prosecutors have used DNA test results as incriminating evidence against the two Myanmar workers, saying that the DNA found on the female victim’s body matched those of the two defendants.
“But we also have to focus on whether the DNA collection is in line with international standards, to begin with,” Nakhon said.
On Thursday, members of the National Human Rights Commission and the Lawyers Council of Thailand will testify in court about the human-rights issues surrounding the treatment of the defendants, he said.
“On Friday, we will also have testimony from three witnesses from the Myanmar Embassy,” Nakhon said.
He said one of the embassy officials would be an interpreter so as to make clear how the communication barrier and the prejudices of an interpreter could affect the investigation.
Police are accused of using an interpreter from an ethnic group that was unfriendly towards the group to which the two defendants belong.
A highly-placed source yesterday said that although the court would finish listening to witnesses this week, the court would likely take a long time before concluding this case.
“The court will need time to examine further evidence,” it said.
