SURAT THANI – A senior police officer has downplayed a news report that claims the two Burmese migrants accused of murdering two British tourists recanted their "confessions" this week.

"The suspects have every rights under the law to retract their testimony," said Pol.Col. Prachum Ruengthong, chief of Koh Pha Ngan Police Station, whose jurisdiction covers Koh Tao island where the murders took place.

"In many other cases, suspects also recant their confessions during trial. It's normal," Pol.Col. Prachum said.

His comment came a few days after a report from the Myanmar-based 7 Daily newspaper claimed the two Burmese suspects, named Saw and Win, retracted their "confession" to murdering the two Britons, David Miller and Hannah Witheridge, on the popular island of Koh Tao on 15 September. 

According to the report, a lawyer from the Burmese embassy said the two suspects told him they did not commit the murder, contrary to Thai police's claim that the men confessed shortly after they were arrested.

However, several other news reports quoted the lawyer as saying the two men did confess to the murder, although the details of their testimony remained murky leading him to believe the case may have been a "set-up."

Earlier this week, a number of human rights groups, including Amnesty International, also demanded an investigation into the claim that the two suspects were tortured under police custody.

Yet Pol.Col. Prachum insisted that the suspects did not suffer any physical abuse at the hands of the police. 

"I insist that it is not true. The police have never coerced the suspects, physically or mentally, into confessing," he said.

The officer added, "Saw and Win confessed on their own, because they are guilty of what they have done. There's no more beating of suspects in this era. The entire police operation is under the eyes of the media."

Saw and Win are currently detained at Koh Samui Prison. They have been charged with premeditated murder, sexual assault, and nighttime theft. If found guilty, the pair could face the death penalty. 

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BANGKOK — His Majesty the King's youngest daughter has been diagnosed with an auto-immune disease and pancreatitis, the palace announced in a statement today.

A medical team at Wichaiyut Hospital in Bangkok discovered that Princess Chulabhorn Walailak, 57, is suffering from swollen lymph glands and a "severe infection of the pancreas," according to a statement released by the Royal Household Bureau. The doctors concluded that the princess has an auto-immune disease called Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE).

Princess Chulabhorn has been residing at the hospital since 3 September. 

According to the statement, she has been advised to rest and refrain from making public appearances for the next three months.

The statement came as the princess' father, King Bhumibol, is spending his sixth day at Siriraj Hospital. His Majesty the King, 86, was rushed to hospital from his summer palace in Prachuap Kiri Khan province on the night of 3 October with a high fever.

The palace later stated that doctors removed the monarch's gallbladder in an operation after the organ was discovered to be infected. The king is now currently recovering at Siriraj Hospital.

Both King Bhumibol and Princess Chulabhorn have been in frail health in recent years. 

His Majesty the King's health in particular is a cause of anxiety for many Thais. The monarch has been on the throne for more than 60 years and is widely credited with bringing stability to the kingdom.

BANGKOK — Provincial authorities in Nong Kai province barred former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from attending a local festival last night due to unspecified "concerns," said a spokesperson from Thailand’s military junta.

Yingluck was scheduled to open the annual ‘Naga Fireball Festival’ in the northeastern province last night, but aides said she was asked to cancel the trip at last minute.

Col. Winthai Suwaree, spokesperson of the junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), confirmed yesterday that Nong Kai’s Governor and "security agencies" decided it was not appropriate for the former leader to make a public appearance at the ceremony.

"If Ms. Yingluck traveled there to open the festival, many people would attend, and it would risk making the general populace to view [her appearance] in an inappropriate way," Col. Winthai said.

Yesterday afternoon, locals were forced to take down a massive poster that welcomed “Her Excellency, Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra, The 28^th Prime Minister of Thailand.”

Col. Winthai added that the decision was jointly reached by the Governor of Nong Kai province, military officers, and administrative officials, but that the NCPO played no part in the process.

Yingluck and her brother, influential former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, have remained immensely popular among their support base in the northern and northeastern regions of Thailand – the birthplace and stronghold of the Redshirt movement. 

After a landslide poll victory in 2011, Yingluck held the premiership until she was ousted in a judicial ruling in May 2014. Days later, the military dismantled what was left of her administration after staging a coup d’état.

Yingluck was briefly detained by the military after the coup and forced to promise to refrain from participating in any political activities.  She has kept a relatively low profile since then, with the junta enforcing its ban on political gatherings or activities that could be seen as undermining its authority. 

Meanwhile, over 293 "fireballs" were spotted during last night’s ceremony along the shores of Mekong River, the natural border between Thailand and Laos. 

Locals believe the "fireballs" were spewed by a mystical beast, the Great Naga, which resides in the river – a Thai equivalent to Scotland's Loch Ness Monster. The annual event drew thousands of locals and tourists who camped out along the river to observe the "miracle."

However, it is believed that the fireballs were in fact a combination of fireworks and incendiary rifle rounds fired from the ground. 

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BANGKOK — A prominent member of the recently-formed National Reform Council (NRC) says the reform process will benefit all Thais, except those like former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra “who abuse their power.”

"'The drafting of the Constitution needs to produce long-term benefits without bias against any individual, but if the drafting is meant to prevent people who abuse their power – people like Thaksin – from entering politics, it can be done," Jermsak Pinthong said yesterday.

"Personally, I intend to reform the power wielded by the state, especially the aspect of election," he added, without elaborating on the details. 

Jermsak is a staunch anti-Thaksin critic and former leader of the protest group that staged street demonstrations against Thaksin's sister, former PM Yingluck Shinawatra, for seven months until the military intervened and staged a coup on 22 May.

Other core leaders of the protest movement, such as Naowarat Pongpaiboon, Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, and Charas Suwanmala, were also appointed by the junta to join the NRC.

The NRC has been tasked with implementing sweeping reforms over the next year before a national election is held, schedueld for October 2015 at the earliest. This "roadmap to democracy," as the junta calls it, closely resembles the former anti-government protesters' demands for "reforms before election." 

Many Redshirts and critics of the coup say the NRC's membership was lockspec, or rigged by the junta to create a body bent on eliminating Thaksin's influence from Thai politics.

Although Thaksin currently lives in self-imposed exile to avoid corruption convictions, he is believed to retain significant influence over political actors and organisations inside the Kingdom. Thaksin-backed parties have won every national election since the former telecoms tycoon was ousted in a coup in 2006.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Jermsak dismissed the allegation that the NRC was biased, and said the reform council intends to "mobilise" opinions from different sectors of the public to ensure the reforms are inclusive.

"I think there should be a referendum for the new Constitution, so that the people are involved in the reform process," Jermsak said. "It's also to prevent political parties that win elections in the future from claiming a popular mandate and altering the Constitution."

Jermsak appeared to be referencing the recent attempt by pro-Thaksin politicians to amend the 2007 Constitution to make the Senate fully elected, instead of half-appointed, half-elected. Jermsak was appointed to draft that now-defunct Constitution following the 2006 coup. 

Meanwhile, another NRC member, political science professor Amorn Wanichwiwat, promised to reform Thailand with a "Buddhist moral system" that only allows "Good People" to take political office. 

"There has to be a selection process for the legislative and administrative branches, to screen for good people and moral people who follow the teachings of Buddhism, especially the Five Precepts," said Amorn, who, like Jermsak, was a drafter of the 2007 Constitution.