Thai police Colonel Prathoom Ruangtong told a court in Koh Samui that footage from cameras at the ports on the island of Koh Tao were analysed to check whether the suspects had fled.
This contradicts a previous statement made in court by a senior officer who said that the footage had not been examined.
Colonel Ruangtong said cameras were checked but ‘they did not reveal anything’.
Last month Thai police Colonel Cherdpong Chiewpreecha said CCTV at the ports, which may have shown who boarded the early morning boat from Koh Tao to the mainland immediately after the deaths, had not been viewed because they were deemed irrelevant.
Burmese migrants Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo are accused of killing former Victoria College pupil David Miller (24) and Norfolk student Hannah Witheridge (23) on Sairee Beach on the Thai island last September.
The court also heard allegations from the prosecution that during one interview session defendant Wai Phyo had admitted changing his clothes between allegedly raping and murdering Miss Witheridge and the killing of Mr Miller. He later retracted his confession, the court heard.
Defence lawyers also pointed out that a green towel had been photographed on Miss Witheridge’s body but was not included in the prosecution’s evidence and had apparently not been tested for DNA.
Fellow Thai police Colonel Kissana Phathanacharoen also confirmed that Mr Miller’s phone had been found discarded near the lodgings of the defendants, and that the UK’s National Crime Agency had identified the SIM card as belonging to the Islander.
Today, during the 12th and final day of prosecution evidence, the court was due to hear testimony from more detectives including an officer who conducted four interviews with the defendants.
The two accused deny charges of murder rape and robbery. If found guilty they could face death by injection. The trial is due to continue next week when defence witnesses will be called for the first time.
