Two men 'partied with sisters'

[Muthukali]

Police are looking for two Portuguese men last seen with the two holidaying Canadian sisters who died under mysterious circumstances at a hotel on Koh Phi Phi off Krabi province last week.

The men are believed to hold clues about the women's deaths. Investigators on Thursday checked CCTV footage from cameras at Phi Phi Palms Residence Hotel.

The footage, recorded between 1.10am and 1.14am on June 13, captured a male foreigner escorting the sisters back to their hotel room. A source close to the police investigation said the man was identified as Luciano Tinto, a 30-year-old Portuguese.

The man and his friend of the same nationality stayed at the same hotel as the sisters, the source said. The friend was not identified.

The source said before they were found dead, the two sisters were spotted with the two men at night entertainment venues on Phi Phi island.

Noemi Belanger, 26, and Audrey Belanger, 20, checked into the hotel in tambon Ao Nang of Muang district on June 13 and were found dead in their room on June 15. The source said the two Portuguese men checked out of the hotel and headed to Phuket on the same day the two Canadians died.

Meanwhile, relatives of the sisters arrived Thursday at Ramathibodi Hospital to collect their bodies for burial.

Wicharn Priewnim, head of the forensic medicine unit of the hospital, said toxicology results are expected to be known in one to two weeks.

Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said yesterday the Canadian embassy has asked the ministry to coordinate efforts between the two countries to investigate the deaths.

Mr Surapong said the embassy also asked for tissue samples from the bodies to conduct lab tests. The ministry has referred the request to relevant officials.

 

[Muthukali]

Police hunt Australian woman's killers

Travel agent stabbed in Phuket robbery bid

An investigation team has been established to track suspects who stabbed an Australian woman to death in Phuket on Wednesday night during an attempted bag snatch by two men on a motorcycle, police said.

The woman was identified as Michelle Smith, 60, a member of a group of travel agents visiting Phuket to inspect a five-star resort.

The attack occurred in the Karon area at about 10.30pm when Smith and her friend, Lynn Tammee Lee, were walking back to their hotel after having dinner.

Ms Lee, who was stabbed in her right arm during the attack, told police two men, aged about 18 to 25, rode past them twice before one of them tried to snatch Smith's bag.

As Smith struggled to hold on to the bag, one of the men stabbed her in the chest. She died at the scene.

The men on the motorcycle fled empty-handed.

Smith arrived in Phuket on the afternoon of Wednesday and was scheduled to travel around Phuket for a month, police said.

Phuket police chief Chonsit Wattanawarangkul said his deputy has mobilised detectives from Muang and Chalong police stations to work on the case.

The investigation will be split into three teams responsible for tracking the number plates of the attackers' motorcycles, examining the surveillance cameras at the scene of attack and establishing the identity of the suspects.

Pol Maj Gen Chonsit said the teams will go through criminal records kept in the police database of theft suspects. He was confident the attackers would be caught soon.

Police said they received daily complaints of bag snatching in the Kata and Karon areas, which are popular with tourists.

Meanwhile, national police chief Priewpan Damapong has ordered a crackdown on the unlicensed possession of firearms nationwide.

He said crimes involving the use of firearms were on the rise, causing heavy loss of lives.

Pol Gen Priewpan has instructed regional police, including those in the main tourist provinces, to act swiftly against those illegally possessing weapons.

In Bangkok, police will deploy a mobile X-ray unit to scan suspicious vehicles that might be carrying firearms.

The national police chief said the machines would help reduce crime in the city.

Acting Bangkok police chief Pol Maj Gen Khamronwit Thoopkrajang said the weapons crackdown will be conducted from tomorrow until Wednesday.