Man accused of killing two British backpackers claims he was sexually tortured and told to confess

HE ADMITTED killing UK backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Jersey. But Wei Phyo said he was tortured to confess.

epa04404020 An undated handout image provided by the family of Hannah Witheridge through Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 17 September 2014, shows Briton Hannah Witheridge, who was found murdered on island of Koh Tao, Thailand on 15 September 2014. Hannah Witheridge aged 23, from Norfolk, eastern England was found alongside fellow victim Briton David Miller aged 24 from Jersey, both victims were found in the early hours of the 15 September 2014. EPA/BRITISH FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

THAI police insist that Wei Phyo is a double murderer and that he admitted to killing two British backpackers. But the 22-year-old Burmese migrant alleges he was tortured, both “sexually and violently”, to confess.

Phyo made the startling admission during a judge-alone trial that is trying to determine whether he killed UK tourists Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Jersey, 24, on the island of Kah Tao in September last year.

“Police told me that as I had no passport I had no rights, and they told me it had happened before, where Burmese migrant workers were burned in a circle of blazing tyres on Koh Tao island,” Phyo said in court, according to the Eastern Daily Press.

He claims he was then subjected to sexual and violent torture. The court heard he was stripped naked in a cold room and then had his genitalia “flicked” hard while he was powerless to stop them because he was handcuffed at the time.

Threats followed, he alleged, of being cut up and electrocuted unless he confessed.

“The man said I was young, and I could just say I did it and just go to prison for several years. If I didn’t I would certainly be killed. The interpreter told me he was in a position to help me, so I decided I should confess. After that, I signed many documents but I didn’t know what they said,” reported the Eastern Daily Press.

Miss Witheridge had been raped while Mr Miller died after being hit over the head before drowning in the sea. Post-mortem examinations showed that both had suffered severe head wounds.

A witness has given evidence of finding the body of Ms Witheridge lying face up and semi-clothed behind some rocks splattered with blood. Mr Miller was lying face down close by at the water’s edge, the Telegraph reported.

David Miller.

Hannah Witheridge.

The case has attracted fierce criticism from the families and British authorities who accuse Thai police of failing to secure the crime scene and of their handling of the case, especially the fact the bodies were moved before a forensics team examined them.

Under Thai law no trial has to be held if a suspect confesses — but the hearing is underway now because Phyo and a co-accused Zaw Lin, 22, have retracted their confessions.

Throughout the time the two were questioned they did not have lawyers present, although they were represented legally at later stages of the investigation.

An important part of the prosecution case against the pair is a mobile phone that was found near where Phyo lived.

He claims he found it on the beach, couldn’t open it, and smashed it when he worried that it could be in any way linked to the murders. It was eventually found to have belonged to Mr Miller, claimed the prosecution although this has been disputed by defence lawyers.

Another key aspect of the case is DNA, prosecutors say, links both men to Ms Witheridge. But the manner in which it was tested has been called into question by defence lawyers for the pair, who argue it cannot be trusted.

To complicate matters further police originally said there was no DNA recovered from the murder weapon, a garden hoe, it was retested to find Ms Witheridge’s DNA and an incomplete male profile found — and that couldn’t be matched to either Phyo or Lin.

A statement from Miss Witheridge’s family said: “The world is a less vibrant and much less beautiful place without Hannah in it.

“Today serves as a very real reminder that the world is a very dangerous place and that life isn’t fussy about who it trips up. As always, our thoughts are with David’s family.”

The judges will hand down their verdicts in December.

Originally published as Man accused of killing two British backpackers claims he was sexually tortured and told to confess