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