A British backpacker was drowned after a violent struggle as he tried to stop an attack on a Thai beach in which his lover was murdered, forensic evidence has indicated.
David Miller, 24, had water in his lungs as well as deep gashes on the back of his head consistent with blows from a hoe found near his body on the resort island of Koh Tao three days ago.
Hannah Witheridge, 23, with whom he had begun a holiday romance, was killed by repeated blows to the face from a similar object.
Thai police were last night holding two of Miller’s friends in Bangkok, The Times reported.
Christopher and James Ware, brothers who grew up with him in Jersey, were stopped at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport and prevented from leaving Thailand, police said.
They were being held under guard at an unnamed hotel last night, but neither had been arrested or charged.
Police said there was no evidence linking them to the murder.
However, the men are being asked to stay in Thailand to help with the inquiry.
The head of Thailand’s junta suggested that foreign tourists to the country were courting danger by wearing bikinis, according to The Times.
General Prayuth Chan-ocha, who seized power in a coup in May, said: “They think our country is beautiful and is safe so they can do whatever they want, they can wear bikinis and walk everywhere. Can they be safe in bikinis… unless they are not beautiful?”