British Tourist Murdered by Pirates - Body Found

[Richard Barrow]

Fears for Thailand sea attack man
BBC, 24th March 2009

A British man is missing and feared dead after the boat he was sailing in was attacked off the coast of Thailand.

Malcolm Robertson, who was accompanied on the boat by his wife Linda, is reported to have been beaten to death and thrown overboard by thieves.

The Foreign Office confirmed that a couple, believed to be from Hastings, were attacked off Satun on Monday and one person was hurt and one missing.

Thai Police have arrested three Burmese men in connection with the incident.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: "We can confirm that a British couple were attacked whilst sailing of the coast of Satun, southern Thailand last night.

"Our consular team in Bangkok are in touch with the next of kin and are providing consular assistance to those involved.

"We are urgently pursuing this case with local police who are investigating the incident. We understand that the Thai police have now arrested 3 suspects.

"One British national has been reported missing and one British national is in hospital."

Video: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...ex/7961408.stm

[Richard Barrow]

'I had to walk through my husband's blood,' British woman describes terror ordeal at hands of Burmese pirates
Daily Mail
By Andrew Drummond, Rebecca Camber and Claire Ellicott
Last updated at 10:21 AM on 25th March 2009

A British grandmother told today of her dramatic escape from pirates, who boarded her yacht, murdered her husband and then bound her naked like a 'trussed chicken'.

Linda Robertson, 57, sobbed as she spoke of how she realised her husband had been bludgeoned to death with a hammer and thrown into the sea off the coast of Thailand.

'I knew because I was walking in his blood,' she said.

She told how she upped anchor and put the boat on full throttle as three Burmese migrant fisherman attempted to retake control of their 44ft yacht Mr Bean, when they realised the dinghy they were making an escape in had a duff engine.

After a nine-hour ordeal bound with her hands and feet tied behind her, the fishermen had finally agreed to leave in the dinghy with a paltry collection of computers, mobile phones, and electronic equipment.

'But they had only got thirty yards when the engine began to splutter as I knew it would,' Mrs Robertson said.

'They turned back to the boat. So I rushed to pull up the anchor, which was quite easy, because they had only let out thirty yards.

'Then I put the boat into full throttle and headed out to see leaving them behind.

'I saw them head to shore and I knew my ordeal was over and I was safe. I cannot believe I survived.'

The drama began early on Tuesday morning.

Police believe that Irish-born Mr Robertson, 64, who runs a chain of coffee shops in St. Leonard's, Sussex, may have also had his throat cut due to the quantity of blood found on the boat.

'We were on a mooring bay off the Buntang Islands, the last Thai islands before Malaysia, when I heard the sound of people clambering aboard,' she said.

'I was in the stern cabin and my husband Malcolm was in the forepeak cabin. I was naked. It was a very hot night. Three young men came in. They were holding hammers and they pushed me back and tied and gagged me.

'Then they went towards the forward cabin and I heard my husband shouting "Get off my boat!".

Blood can be seen spattered on the inside of the cabin of the Mr Bean after the horrifying attack

'I heard a scuffle and did not hear any more. They came back to me and made signs to me to start the engine, which I did.'

'There was no sign of my husband,' she said and sobbed.

'I think this was the first time I realised he might be dead. I waited and listened and heard nothing.

'The night was pitch black and the boat headed north. They put me back in my cabin all trussed up and would come and get me if they had a problem.

'First they wanted to know how the fuel system worked, and I showed them. They did not know where the switches were.

'But as I walked through the boat I realised I was walking through the blood of my husband.

'From that moment on I knew I was just fending for my life and might have to fight for it or take my chance in the ocean. I made gestures as if to ask "Are you going to kill me?."

'They made signs to say 'No' they were going to leave when they had finished and pointed to the clock in my cabin.

'One, the youngest was trying to be kind, even though he was guarding me with a machete. He brought me food and drink.

'He kept saying "I am sorry". Possibly one of the few English phrases he knew and he brought me some food and drink from the galley.

'By 6am it was already quite light. We had been motoring for over five hours and the dawn gave me hope.

'My hands and feet were swelling because I was trussed up naked like a chicken. It was all very degrading.

'I could not cover anything up - but if you think you are going to die all such matters become secondary.

'The boat stopped. It was then my thoughts turned to escape. One of the men came down and asked me how to put down the anchor. It was then that they started to ransack the boat.

'I could still neither see nor hear any sound of my husband. But earlier there had been a sound and movement as if something was being moved to another boat. I realised later it was my husband being put into the sea.

'I thought this is the time to escape. I tried to dive off the boat, but left it too late and was caught off balance. I started to run away from them. I was on top forward next to the hatch above my husband's bunk, and I was standing in his blood.

'They caught me and tied me even more severely. Then we headed north for another three hours or so and the boat started to slow again.

'They dropped anchor again. By this time I estimated we must have travelled 70 or 80 miles north. I could see fishing boats.

'The men put me back in the cabin and shut the hatch and I heard them start the 2 horsepower Yahama engine of the rubber dinghy.

'I managed to free myself and get out onto the deck. I knew the dinghy would play up and had to act quickly. Only Malcolm knew how to deal with it. I switched on the EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon).

'Then I looked to see to my horror that the pirates were attempting to paddle back to the boat.

'If they knew I had switched on the distress system, I thought, they would kill me for sure.

'I ran and pulled up the anchor. Luckily they had played out only 30 feet of chain, so it was quite easy. I started the engine and headed out towards the fishing boats. I looked around and saw the pirates heading towards the shore.

'I could not believe the pirates had left me. I headed towards the fishing fleet putting out Mayday signals.

'Then I started waving my blue and white sarong and shouted 'Mayday'. But as I approached them the fishing boats began to turn away from me.

'I do not think the fishermen knew what a Mayday situation was. I had to almost ram them to get their attention.

'I pulled Mr Bean alongside one of the boats. It was a futile situation. They ignored me to I jumped off my boat onto the fishing boat.

'I would not go back to my boat. I did not want to feel Malcolm's blood on my feet.

'They could see I was distressed though, but they did not understand what I was saying, so they called the police.

'Soon along came a boat with Rangers from the Turatao National Park. They had uniforms and badges, I would not let them go. I was scared to stay alone with the fisherman. I thought perhaps they might know the pirates or even be working with them.

'Then along came a police launch with four policemen in camouflage combat gear and machine guns.

'I don't know how I managed to explain it to them. But eventually they got the message, I pointed to the headland, which the dinghy had gone behind, and the police sped off in the right direction.

'Shortly afterwards they brought all them men back and told me they were Burmese migrant workers who were working with the local fishing fleet. They were very proud they had caught them so soon.

'I recognised them immediately. Some of them were even wearing Malcolm's clothes, because they had swum to our boat in the middle of the night wearing only shorts.

'Malcolm and I know this area well. It is really beautiful. We were planning to berth our boat in Langkawi and then return home. We have been here for the last three seasons.

'The Thai people have been very kind. They are lovely people. We do not blame them for all this.

'Nurses have given me pills to help me sleep. But they do not stop me having nightmares.

'I hope they find Malcolm's body, but I have no idea of the lats and longs (latitudes and longitudes), of where he was thrown overboard.'

Mrs Robertson broke down several times as she spoke to me from her hospital bed in Satun, South Thailand, but she cheered up at the thought of being re-united with three of her and Malcolm's four grown up children who arrive in Thailand later this evening.

'Thank god I managed to get a message back home. I would hate to have them get the news of Malcolm's death from the television.'

Thai police said today they would ask the prosecutor to call for the death penalty for the pirates.

But they admitted that the Burmese pirates claimed they had run away themselves from a Thai fishing boat where the captain had treated them as slaves.

'They told us they saw the yacht and dived for their freedom. They boarded the yacht intending to take the dinghy but Mr. Robertson was killed when he resisted them,' a spokesman said.

'They tried to get as far away as possible from the fishing fleet they were with. They decided to rob the boat because they had not been paid.'

In January 2006, two Thai fishermen swum ashore to Lamai Beach on the island of Koh Samui in the middle of the night to rape and murder Briton Katherine Horton, 21, from Cardiff.

They were later sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

There have been no recent attacks on yachts in Southern Thailand, but Tarutao National Park off Satun, where Mrs Robertson finally made her escape was an area notorious for pirates during the Second World War, when both guards and prisoners, from two prisons on the island of Turatao went into the piracy business.

The pirates were finally quelled by British troops sent up from what was then known as Malaysia.

A well known Thai novel 'The Pirates of Turatao' is based on this period.

Mr and Mrs Robertson, who have four children, had been sailing around the world for the last decade - returning to the UK to see their family every summer.

They had sailed up the Amazon, the Panama Canal, through the Galapagos Islands and around New Zealand and Australia.
Their internet blog told of anchoring off idyllic beaches, sunbathing, swimming with manta rays, enjoying champagne breakfasts and barbecues on deck, and watching sunsets with a glass of wine in hand.

Her brother John Clee, 63, from St Leonards-on-Sea, said: 'Malcolm and Linda led a life that would make everybody else envious.

'The children ran the business when they were away and they took over again when they returned. The children are distraught.'

He added: 'I spoke to Linda on the phone. She kept saying, "They've murdered Malcolm."

'It happened about 1am Thai time. Malcolm was sleeping in the cabin at the front while she was in the larger cabin at the back. She heard someone climbing on to the deck and called out to Malcolm. She then heard a commotion and heard him say "Get off the boat, get off the boat."

'Then three young boys aged about 16 came into her cabin. At that point she came out of her cabin and saw blood everywhere. She thought she was going to die.'

'She thinks Malcolm was thrown overboard after he was hit with a hammer. She's traumatised. She's got swollen legs and arms from being tied up, and a few bruises.
'She can't understand why he was killed and she wasn't.'

The couple, married for 24 years, were moored off the coast of Satun, in southern Thailand. The area is close to where refugees from Burma try to seek land after fleeing the Burmese military junta.

The Robertsons had been heading for Malaysia where they planned to moor their yacht and fly home on April 9.

Pirates had boarded their yacht before, but Mr Robertson used to carry cigarettes and brandy to give to thieves.

Last night their four children were flying out to Thailand.

[Richard Barrow]

Also in the Daily Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...r-husband.html

Our commiserations to family and friends and of course his wife. A really sad event. I have been reading some of the comments being posted and Thailand has been receiving a hammering.

[paul_au]

Absolute dregs of the earth, My condolences to his friends and family.

[Richard Barrow]

Here are some comments being posted so far....

I feel really sorry for these two innocence, but why would anyone in their right minds go to Thiailand for holidays. Its a known danger spot?

- idiopath, Newcastle, 24/3/2009 20:49

Time to cross Thailand off the holiday destination list I think!
So sorry for this poor couple.

- carver, newark,, 24/3/2009 21:23

In Thailand they do not mess about with criminals and short sentences . If they are found guilty , then it usually is the death sentence. If these people are guilty of this horrific crime, then justice must be carried out.

- sammy, UK, 24/3/2009 22:02

Another good reason to avoid Thailand.

- Chris, Yorkshire, 24/3/2009 22:39

I have said before, in relation to another story about Thailand; it is NOT safe for westerners at all

- john, Cheshire, 24/3/2009 23:12

Thailand is as safe as any Country can be, this is a very sad occurrence to happen to anyone, more especially to this Couple who have done what others dream of doing. He died defending his wife and there possessions.
My heart goes out to her and the family, RIP Malcolm.

- shergars ghost, London UK, 25/3/2009

My thoughts are with Linda Robertson and her family.

But don't say that Thailand is off your list of holiday destinations. Thailand is a fabulous, beautiful country, and far safer than the UK.

And people who commit such terrible crimes as this, will face a harsher penalty than the soft sentences given to criminals in this country!

- DAVID POSTLE, Worcestershire, England,

How tragic... anyone who says Thailand is a terrible country for violence hasn;t lived in the UK lately!! I am ashamed to be British when I see the state of affairs there, the ignorance and disrepect is shocking!

- vonnie, singapore, 25/3/2009 1:37

Although this is a terrible tragedy,I'm amazed at the negative comments towards Thailand. Stuart Bangkok is absolutely right. I too have walked the BKK streets alone at 3am many times and it's far safer than any British city or town.
Negative comments are the result of ignorance.

- Steve, Manchester, 25/3/2009 1:56

One incident like this doesn't suddenly make Thailand a risky destination for tourists. However, when you add this to all the negative publicity we have received over the last year - including the airport closures - then you can probably understand why people jump in with comments like some of the ones above. Looking at the statistics for our blogs, we can see a lot of people coming in after typing this in google: "is Thailand safe?". It is one of our most common search terms.

In my opinion Thailand is one of the safest places in the world. I have lived here for 15 years and have never once felt like my life was in danger. These tourist murders, though tragic, are isolated incidents. It happens all around the world and not just here. However, unlike one of the people in the comments posted at the Daily Mail website, I personally wouldn't walk alone through the streets of Bangkok at 3 a.m. To be safe on holiday in any country in the world you need to have some common sense. If you are sensible then the chances are high that you won't face any problems. However, as we have seen here today, sometimes you just cannot help being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[paul_au]

I personally wouldn't walk alone through the streets of Bangkok at 3 a.m. To be safe on holiday in any country in the world you need to have some common sense.

In my parents day's back in the late 50's, in Sydney Australia you could walk in just about any street in safety anytime of the day or night, but not now, you would have to pick an affluent northern shore suburb to feel safe. One of the few places I have felt this 1950's safety was when I lived in Japan for 2 years in the early 90's. The world is becoming a dangerous place, but I would have to admit Thailand is as safe as many western countries, if you take precautions. The biggest danger in Thailand is the roads, road and car safety needs to be upgraded, many cars don't have safety belts in the back seats.

[yeows]

Fishermen kill British yachtsman
By Daily Xpress
25 March 2009

Tourist hacked to death in botched robbery

Three Burmese fisher¬men hijacked a yacht off the Satun coast on Monday and killed its owner - an elderly British national - before being ar¬rested by local police.

The suspects - identi¬fied merely as Ek, 18; Ow, 19; and Ko, 20 - narrowly escaped a mob attack by angry Thai touristbusi¬ness operators when brought to La Ngu police station.

Body thrown overboard

The search for the body of Malcolm Robertson, 64, which was thrown over¬board, continued all day yesterday. The crimes took place at around 5pm on Monday and police report that the suspects have con¬fessed.

Quoting the victim's wife, Linda, police said their yacht "Mister Mean" was boarded by the three suspects, who tried to steal its rubber dinghy. Robertson confronted them and was hacked to death.

The suspects identified themselves as crew mem¬bers of the fishing trawler Wichai 6, which had been anchored close to Mister Mean. The British couple had been on their way to Langkawi in Malaysia.

Provincial authorities have requested extra po¬lice and Navy patrols in the area.

[Khun Don]

. However, unlike one of the people in the comments posted at the Daily Mail website, I personally wouldn't walk alone through the streets of Bangkok at 3 a.m.

To put these comments into some sort of context.

The "Daily Mail" is not exactly the UK's most balanced newspaper. It has a reputation for reflecting ultra conservative middle class opinion-some say inventing it- and is no stranger to litigation for libel etc-or jokes from comedians.
It also has a reputation for embellishing the severity of any situation it reports on.
As accuracy, knowledge is also often not a keyword with the "Daily Mail".
I remember during the Burma cyclone and the military Junta's reluctance to assist with aid, that it ignorantly printed a comment from someone who had decided the only reason the Burma had not been invaded by Bush was "because it did not have oil or gas deposits"! .
The comment was not printed for a joke.
The Daily Mail is not known for its sense of humour!

I have on several occassions challenged some of the more outrageous statements made by its journos and often rabid correspondents.
Not one has appeared on the site.
This includes the one I sent today defending Thailand.
I would suggest that there were a lot more comments supporting Thailand that were sent to the Daily Mail but also never featured.

[peacerichard]

To put these comments into some sort of context.

The "Daily Mail" is not exactly the UK's most balanced newspaper. It has a reputation for reflecting ultra conservative middle class opinion-some say inventing it- and is no stranger to litigation for libel etc-or jokes from comedians.
It also has a reputation for embellishing the severity of any situation it reports on.
As accuracy, knowledge is also often not a keyword with the "Daily Mail".
I remember during the Burma cyclone and the military Junta's reluctance to assist with aid, that it ignorantly printed a comment from someone who had decided the only reason the Burma had not been invaded by Bush was "because it did not have oil or gas deposits"! .
The comment was not printed for a joke.
The Daily Mail is not known for its sense of humour!

I have on several occassions challenged some of the more outrageous statements made by its journos and often rabid correspondents.
Not one has appeared on the site.
This includes the one I sent today defending Thailand.
I would suggest that there were a lot more comments supporting Thailand that were sent to the Daily Mail but also never featured.

You may be right but you don't know. Usually only negative points get made to newspapers. You complain about a bad experience but never mention a good experience.

There is bias in all media. Just compare The Nation and Bangkok Post. They take different views. And the Thai language press report differently from both of them. You can not trust any one source

[Surawut]

Australia's Channel 9 website account of the murder reports that Thai police have said that these 3 scum wont be charged with murder if Malcolm Robertson's body is not recovered.

[Police later arrested the men, who confessed to the killing.

But the trio will not be charged with murder unless Mr Robertson's body is found, Sky News reports.]