Bangkok, Aug 29 (TIWN) Thailand's Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the death sentences of two Myanmar citizens accused of killing two British backpackers in 2014 on the popular tourist island of Koh Tao.

 The September 2014 murders sullied Thailand’s image in the tourism industry, which makes up about a tenth of its economy.  The workers, Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, were sentenced to death for the murder of David Miller, 24 and the murder and rape of Hannah Witheridge, 23, on the diving haven of Koh Tao.  Police said Witheridge had been raped and bludgeoned to death and Miller had suffered blows to his head. 

A panel of two Supreme Court judges ruled on Thursday to uphold the death sentences handed down by lower courts, saying the men had been found guilty of murder and rape on the basis of evidence and forensic results.