Bangkok : Myanmar authorities on Sunday closed the Phaya Tong Su border checkpoint opposite the Three Pagodas pass in Thailand’s Kanchanaburi province, a regional army commander said. Commander Thammanoon Withee said Myanmar authorities did not allow Thai people and tourists to cross the border to the Phaya Tong Su side while Thai authorities opened their Three Pagodas pass as usual, the Bangkok Post reported.
He said he had received reports that Myanmar people in Phaya Tong Su planned to stage three days of protests from December 28 over the death sentences handed down to two Myanmar migrant workers in the Koh Tao murder case.
He said soldiers would meet Myanmar workers on the Thai side to explain the judicial process concerning the murder case — the death sentences to two Myanmar migrant workers found guilty of murdering two British tourists on Koh Tao island in Thailand in September last year. The death penalty was the sentence of the Court of First Instance only and the concerned people should be calm because the case could undergo trial at the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court in the future, Thammanoon added.
Meanwhile, four Myanmar migrant workers arrested over the murder of a 17-year-old female student in September claimed they were tortured into confessing by police in Thailand’s Ranong province, the media reported on Sunday. Moe Zin Aung, 19, Zaw Lay, 25, Mang Sane, 20, and Kyaw Soe Win, 18, confessed to taking part in the brutal stabbing of Orawee Sampaotong, according to statements they gave to police. However, the four have now denied their involvement in the murder, the Bangkok Post reported.
