Scarlette's mother admits knifing a sex pest

Fiona MacKeown, mother of British schoolgirl Scarlette Keeling, who was found dead on a beach in Goa, has admitted that she was imprisoned for a year as a teenager for stabbing her employer after he allegedly tried to force himself on her friend, local media reported on Saturday.

"It's something that happened, and I learnt a lot from it," 43-year-old MacKeown told The Times. "But it has no relevance to Scarlette's case," she said.

According to a report in the Daily Mail, the deaths of at least four Britons could be reinvestigated by police in Goa after police admitted covering up the death of Scarlette.

Quoting officers, the report said the police would reopen investigations into dozens of suspicious deaths passed off as accidents.

At least 126 foreign nationals including 40 Britons, have died in Goa in the past two years, the report said.

Many were put down to natural causes or accidents -- but some officers believe up to 12 deaths passed off as drowning since last year looked suspicious.

One case which may be checked is the suspicious drowning of Martin Neighbour, 39.

His body was found on a beach last month. His fiancee believes he was murdered by locals who lost money in a card game.

The local police insist they are close to solving the case after arresting Placido Carvalho, a local drug dealer, and Samson D'Souza, a bartender, on suspicion of plying Scarlette with drugs, raping her and leaving her to drown.