Swedish girl murdered in attempted Phuket beach rape

Sadly, another attack against a foreigner in Thailand in a growing list this year; to remind everybody, Thailand is still a country of the Third World, with a tremendous chasm between rich and poor, and a lot of desperate people out there; be careful and culturally aware (as you should be everywhere on your travels).
As this was only the latest in a good number of crimes against tourists holidaying in Thailand, the handling of this incident by local police has sparked a lot of controversy, even though the Tourism Minister himself came to Phuket to smooth the impact, and a suspect was actually arrested within a very short time frame.

From the Phuket Gazette:

"The body of Hanna Charlotta Backlund, 27, who was found murdered on Mai Khao Beach yesterday morning, has been flown to Bangkok for forensic tests, Col Sakchai Limcharoen, Superintendent of Tah Chat Chai Police Station, told the Gazette this afternoon.
“There is no news to report at this time, but police are working quickly to solve this case. We have questioned many people, but no-one has reported being a witness to the crime, including her girl friend,” he said.
Hanna Charlotta was staying at Mai Khao Beach Bungalow resort with Emma Storman, who found Hanna’s body about 300 meters from the resort.
Tah Chat Chai Police Deputy Superintendent Lt Col Payongsak Petchrod told the Gazette, “The place where the body was found is hard to see and very quiet. There is a mound there and behind that is thick with trees. There are no restaurants near there, and no people.”
Emma told police that she did not see anyone in the area around the time of the murder, Lt Col Payongsak said. “Emma left the resort to buy some water and she told Hanna that she will join her sunbathing later. About 30 minutes later, she returned to find Hanna dead,” he said.
“Hanna was very beautiful and she was sunbathing topless. Emma said that they normally sunbathed topless if there were no people around,” he added.
“There were many stab wounds on her neck, one on her back, one near her navel and both of her hands had been cut by something sharp. It’s possible those wounds came from her fighting her attacker,” Lt Col Payongsak said."

For more information and discussion, please see the following ongoing forum threads on Thai Visa:

• The Death of Miss Hanna Charlotta Backlund
• Thais Scramble To Allay Tourist Fears After Recent Assaults

Links of Interest:

• Two Canadians shot by drunk policeman in Pai