Thai MFA:Legal process of Koh Tao murder case cannot be stopped

BANGKOK, December 28 (TNA) - Foreign Minister Don Pramud Winai says that the ongoing judicial process in the murder case of two British tourists on Koh Tao, or Tao Island, off Surat Thani Province in the Thai South last year cannot be stopped, asking the Myanmar government to help control demonstrations of Myanmar protesters. In his response to an ongoing protest in Myanmar against the death sentence handed on two Myanmar men who were found guilty of the murder by the Samui provincial court in Surat Thani on December 24, Don told journalists on Monday that the protest has been expanding in areas outside Yangon and his ministry has asked the Myanmar Foreign Ministry to prevent demonstrations from getting out of hand. Regarding a recent request by Myanmar’s supreme commander Min Aung Hlaing for a review of the sentence, the Thai foreign minister insisted that it is impossible for any country to stop its unfinished justice process and concerned parties should wait for higher courts' rulings. Asked by reporters whether it is possible for the case to be exploited against Thailand, the Thai foreign minister acknowledged that so many people are demonstrating and it is impossible to know the purposes of all of them, as some rallies appear to have been abnormally staged. The Thai foreign minister stressed, however, that the Thai government has asked Myanmar to guarantee safety for Thai people there. Last Thursday, the Samui provincial court sentenced the two Myanmar migrant workers, Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun, both aged 22, to death for murdering two British tourists, David Miller and Hannah Witheridge, both 24 years old, on Sai Ree Beach of Koh Tao in Surat Thani's Koh Pha-ngan District on September 15, 2014. Win Zaw Tun was also found guilty of illegal immigration. (TNA)