The military leader of Thailand apologised after suggesting that tourists who wear bikinis are at risk unless they are unattractive.
The climb-down by prime minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha came as Thai police admitted that they have no idea who killed two British backpackers on Monday.
The general’s remarks following the murders of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, on the island of Koh Tao drew criticism from the British embassy, The Times reported.
“I am sorry that my statement caused uneasiness,” General Prayuth said. “I affirm that I did not look down on or criticise anyone. I simply wanted to warn them to be careful at certain places and certain times.”
The British embassy in Bangkok confirmed that it had raised “concerns” with the Thai foreign ministry, and sought “clarification” of the remarks, which were made on national television on Wednesday.
“Safety – tourists! We always have problems with that!” General Prayuth had said. “They think that our country is beautiful and safe and that they can do whatever they want, wear bikinis and go anywhere… I ask you: will they be safe wearing a bikini? Unless they aren’t pretty?”
His comments were criticised by human rights groups and women’s organisations, coming two days after the murder of Ms Witheridge, who was not wearing a bikini before she was bludgeoned with a hoe and apparently raped by two men.
The Thai government’s own tourism campaigns make extensive use of photographs of bikini-clad tourists enjoying the country’s beach resorts.
The killers of the two backpackers were still at large last night, after Thai police said that they had failed to make DNA matches between traces found on the victims’ bodies and any of the 12 considered suspects.
British brothers Christopher and James Ware were questioned but police now say there is no evidence against them. They also said that there were no DNA matches for a group of Burmese suspects, according to the BBC.