POLICE LINKS TO NONG KHAI MURDERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANGKOK 000825 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2016 TAGS: PHUM PGOV KCRM TH SUBJECT: POLICE LINKS TO NONG KHAI MURDERS REF: BANGKOK 00681 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Alex A. Arvizu, reason 1.4 (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. Since January 2005, four American citizens have been murdered in Nong Khai, on the Thai-Laos border. There is evidence that these murders may be linked and that the killer(s) may have ties to the Royal Thai Police and/or the Government of Laos (GOL). The police established a task force to look into these and other recent murders along the border. Despite the fact that several of these murders happened in public places, initial police investigations have turned up little in the way of leads, and progress has been slow. Bureaucratic in-fighting between the task force and local authorities appears to be further hampering the investigation. The Ambassador has sent National Police Commissioner-General Kowit Wattana a letter expressing concern about these cases. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) In addition to the well publicized case of Mr. Anouvong Sethathirath and his wife Ashley McRowan (AKA Oulayvanh Saysombath),two other Americans were murdered in Nong Khai during 2005. James Xiong and two Thai nationals were shot in Xiong's home on January 27, 2005. Chai Zong Vue was shot on the sidewalk in front of his hotel on November 17, 2005. Post believes that Xiong and Vue were linked to the Lao resistance movement. No such link appears to exist for Sethathirath and McRowan. Nevertheless, the method and weapons used in this case closely resemble the case of Vue and several other unresolved murders in the Thai-Laos border region. ¶3. (C) Initial public statements from high-ranking police officers suggested that elements of the Royal Thai Police might have been involved in the Sethathirath/McRowan murders. In private discussions with LEGATT, local police officials in Nong Khai stated their belief that agents from the GOL are involved in this and other unresolved murders. ¶4. (SBU) A police task force made up of the Crime Suppression Bureau, the Metropolitan Police and Immigration Police has opened an investigation. The Provincial Police appear displeased at the establishment of the task force and reportedly are not being fully cooperative. So far, the task force has brought over 20 Nong Khai police officers to Bangkok for interrogation. Two sketches of possible suspects were released to LEGATT, but to date no arrests have been made. On February 7, the Ambassador sent a letter to Police Commissioner General Kowit Wattana expressing concern over these unresolved cases and offering any assistance that might be useful. ¶5. (C) COMMENT: Once again, the police are in charge of a high-profile investigation in which police involvement in the actual crime is suspected. Similar to the case of disappeared lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit, sloppy initial crime scene management handicapped the investigation from the outset. Although rumors abound of shadowy agents from Laos working through Thai middlemen to contract Thai police officers as hit men, there is little solid evidence to prove this. However, the fact that the killers felt confident enough to walk up to their victims (sometimes in public and in broad daylight),shoot them at close range, and calmly walk to waiting getaway vehicles suggests unusual brazenness - and perhaps confidence that they would not be caught. In his letter to Kowit, the Ambassador stated that the Embassy is considering issuance of a travel warning urging American citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to the Thai-Laos border region unless there is more progress with the ongoing investigations. All the same, the police track record in investigating difficult cases such as this does not inspire much confidence. BOYCE