Thai police start Murder investigation after drowning on Samui has been ruled out

Thai police start Murder investigation after drowning on Samui has been ruled out

The Thai police have finally started a murder investigation into the death of a British national Kevin Attew, 57, living here on Koh Samui since various years.

After a post mortem conducted in Surat Thani the Surat Thani police requested the Samui police to re-open the case of Kevin Attew, who according to the Samui police had committed suicide and drowned in Chaweng lake after his Thai girl friend told the police that he was planning to do so. Attew's body was found last Tuesday.

Kevin Attew

Considering that Chaweng Lake at certain places is just about 30 centimeters deep and also taking into account that the Gulf of Thailand starts straight off Chaweng Beach, within a mile of where Attew's body was found, a shallow lake is not a very great place to commit suicide if an ocean is just around the corner.

Yesterday the case was re-opened as a murder investigation after the victim's best friend went to visit the local morgue and took pictures that clearly showed that Kevin, who was a motor cycle enthusiast had been beaten to death first and bruises could easily be identified on his body.

Londoner Crispin Paton-Smith, publisher of a real estate magazine on the island and Mr. Attew's best friend, said: “I was appalled to hear the verdict of drowning. It was a no brainer. Kevin was beaten to death and his body was left on dry land for quite a while before being put in the lake.

Paton-Smith a former gunner in the Royal Artillery said: “I have spoken to his girlfriend and she continues to insist he committed suicide. He did not unless he beat himself to death. He would have had to dig a hole to drown himself.

“Kevin ran a very successful bar and was the sweetest man in the world. He had no enemies".

"He was also a biker and he raised a lot of money doing charity rides for the Red Cross and other deserving causes."

Kevin Attew left and Crispin Paton-Smith right, with his girlfriend

It seems that the Koh Samui is trying to play down crime on the island out of fear of upsetting its lucrative tourism industry.

A spokesman for the Regional Police in Surat Thani on the mainland in southern Thailand said: “We are treating this as murder and have asked for the body to be sent here for a full autopsy.”

Mr. Attew, who produced rock and advertising videos in Britain, owned the ‘Honey Bar’ in Chaweng a meeting placed for bikers. He was founder of the ‘Koh Samui Pirates’ motorcycle club, which consists mainly of middle aged men who like touring on motorbikes and like to wear their ‘colours’ but who do not involve themselves in some of the extreme practices with which these groups are often associated.

Thai police have at least once mistaken such motorcyclists for members of Scandinavian and American motorcycle gangs with a reputation for crime.
They arrested and jailed several law-abiding bikers four years ago, including Mr Paton-Smith, a member of the Koh Samui Bandidos motorcycle club, who was eventually released without charge.

A British Embassy spokesman said relatives of Mr Attew had been informed of his death.

Let's hope that this case will get the attention it deserves and that for once justice will be served and this case won't be swept under a carpet. You can show your support by attending the 'virtual funeral' on Facebook.

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Camille