Murder trial opens for British tourists killed in Thailand

A Thai policeman described the awful moments he discovered the lifeless bodies of two British backpackers as their murder trial opened on Wednesday. The two Burmese migrants who stand accused of killing David Miller, 24, and raping and murdering Hannah Witheridge, 23 have pleaded not guilty.

Lawyers for Win Zaw Htun and Zaw Lin, as well as migrant activists, have argued that the two were the victims of a police force under pressure to present the public with a scapegoat after a sloppy initial investigation.

The suspects arrived at court with their feet shackled while the families of Witheridge and Miller looked on.

Lt. Jakrapan Kaewkao, the officer who took the stand on Wednesday, detailed last September's harrowing scene of finding Miller "face down" on the edge of the water and Witheridge further up the beach on Koh Tao Island, a popular spot for tourists and divers.

"Just hours before he died David was talking to us with his usual enthusiasm, describing the beauty of Koh Tao and the friendliness of the Thai people," said Miller's family in a statement. They said they had come to Thailand to attend the trial to "gain a better understanding" of how he died, just a few hundred yards away from the island's main tourist area.

Witheridge's family wrote that her "bright future was brutally ended leaving those who loved her broken with no answers."

Authorities accused of bungled investigation

Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun have been in custody in Koh Samui, near the island where the bodies were found, since October, shining a light on the scores of underpaid, exploited migrant workers from Myanmar who come to Thailand to find jobs in the country's lucrative tourist sector.

The pair's legal team has criticized the investigation that led to their arrest, saying the crime scene was contaminated and that they were tortured into giving confessions, which they have seen retracted. Defense lawyers have also demanded the opportunity to test independently the controversial forensic evidence the authorities say proves the two migrants are guilty.

The lawyers said they were not given access to the evidence, despite an April court ruling allowing them to run new tests.

"There's a real lack of adequate disclosure by the prosecution and that worries us about whether there will be a fair trial," said Andy Hall, an activist with Migrant Workers Rights Network, which is helping to fund the suspect's case.

The families of Witheridge and Miller, however, have expressed their confidence in the proceedings following a report from British investigators who traveled to Thailand last year.

The trial is set to take place over 18 spaced out days between now and September. The verdict is due in October.

es/jil (AP, AFP)