Koh Tao victims’ families slam Thailand

Laura Witheridge, whose sister was one of two victims in the brutal Koh Tao murder case, slammed Thailand in a Facebook post, saying it was far from the beautiful country people talked about.

She further alleged that many Thais had no regard for human life and treated people like dirt.

Laura’s sister Hannah was raped and murdered along with another Briton, David Miller, on the resort island in September 2014. 

A Thai Court sentenced two Myanmar migrants, Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun, to death for killing both victims late last year.

However, Thai police were criticised for not being professional in the way they collected evidence and accused of setting up the convicted pair as scapegoats to resolve the case.

The Witheridge family flew in from Britain to attend the court’s ruling.

Laura alleged in her Facebook post that senior Thai officials callously told her parents to go home and “just make another one” after their daughter was raped and killed while on holiday.

Laura’s condemnation of Thailand came just days after another Briton was found dead on Koh Tao.

The body of Luke Miller, 26, a bricklayer from the Isle of Man, was found in a swimming pool last week, prompting his distraught mother, Sara Cotton, to issue her own warning.

She said: “This has ripped my heart out... Luke was living the dream out there. I personally didn’t want him to go though.

“If I knew then what I know now about that island, he wouldn't have gone. I would’ve hidden his passport. I don’t think parents should let their kids go out there to that island.”

In a Facebook post shared over 4,408 times, Laura Witheridge labelled Thai officials “corrupt” and claimed Thailand was not the beautiful and safe travel destination it was reputed to be.

Among the questions court officials put to her family during the trial were: “Why are you here?” and “Why do you care?”

Shockingly, other individuals told the grieving family: “She is dead already – why are you so bothered? Just go home and make another one” and “Why are you making such a fuss, she will be back in 30 days as something else, she may have better luck next time.”

This, Laura claimed, was evidence of their “little regard for human life”.