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Thai police free Myanmar suspects, hunt for killers of British pair on

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Thai police on Tuesday ruled out three Myanmar workers in connection with the murder of two young British tourists.

The bodies of Mr David Miller, 24, and Ms Hannah Witheridge, 23, arrived in Bangkok late on Tuesday for forensic examination.

They were found naked and beaten to death early on Monday near a beachside bungalow on the island, a diving hot-spot near Koh Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand.

A bloodied hoe was discovered 35m from the murder scene, AFP reported.

Three male Myanmar migrant workers were held for questioning but ruled out of the probe, southern regional police commander Panya Maman told AFP.

“They were very far from the scene... it was probably not them,” he said, adding DNA samples had been collected from the men.

Number of British tourists cleared

Police have also cleared a number of British tourists who travelled with the victims of any involvement in the killings.

Earlier on Tuesday, local television showed Thai authorities searching several shacks belonging to Myanmar migrants on Koh Tao.

Meanwhile, Thai junta chief and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha appeared to call into question the victims’ conduct in addition to the perpetrators of the attack.  

“We have to look into the behaviour of the other party too because this kind of incident should not happen to anybody and it has affected our image,” he told reporters, referring to the two tourists.

Thai authorities were working “swiftly” to find the killers, he added.

Source: AFP