Robbery claim at Thai murder spot

Thai officers walk near the bodies of two British tourists on a beach in Surat Thani province, southern Thailand. Photo / AP

Two British women were reportedly mugged by a Thai motorbike gang on the same beach where two backpackers were brutally murdered and just one night before the killings took place, it was claimed.

The women were robbed of their bags, cameras and iPhones by four Thai men, said James Isaacs, a British tourist and friend of the victims.

The robbery took place on Koh Tao Island's Sairee Beach at the same spot where islanders found the disfigured bodies of David Miller, 24, from Jersey, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Great Yarmouth, a week ago.

The Bangkok Post has claimed that the investigation into the killing of the couple had been "rushed, rash, incompetent and speculative" and police confirmed they were looking into a possible altercation between a Thai man and the murdered couple. Officers have blamed their murders on a gang of at least three unidentified "attackers", including two Asian men.

"It could have been them," Isaacs, who is from Bournemouth, said of the thieves. "It was literally the same spot."

Kissana Phathanacharoen, a police spokesman, said he could not immediately confirm if police knew of or were investigating the robbery. Sometimes tourists did not file official police reports, he added.

Investigators confirmed for the first time that they were looking into claims the two victims had been involved in a row with a Thai man who was said to have harassed Witheridge in a bar shortly before the murders.

"Sexual jealousy" was now seen as likely motive for the crime, said Phathanacharoen. The possible involvement of fishermen who could have swum ashore from their boats to commit the crime was also being considered.

Many questions have been raised about the police reaction, including why they failed to properly secure the area around the crime scene.