British Tourist Murdered by Pirates - Body Found

[peacerichard]

The unacceptable face of a once beautiful country that the rest of the world doe not really fully understand and seems not to want to.

[Richard Barrow]

'I killed the farang with a hammer. Please tell the lady I'm so sorry': Burmese pirate confesses to murder of Briton on sailing trip
Daily Mail
By Andrew Drummond and Andrew Chant
Last updated at 12:57 AM on 29th March 2009

A teenager arrested after the murder of British yachtsman Malcolm Robertson has confessed to the killing from his cell – but may never be charged with the crime.

Fisherman Eksian Warapon, 19, admitted: ‘I did it. And I did it alone. First I knocked the farang [the foreigner] down with a hammer. Then when I was told that he was still alive I went back and hit him several times until I heard his skull crack.

‘If I ever get out of jail I’ll lead a good, proper life. Please tell the lady [Mr Robertson’s wife Linda] I’m so sorry. I know I do not deserve to live.’

However, Thai authorities say they cannot prosecute for murder because they do not have a body. Eksian says he threw Mr Robertson’s body overboard.

Eksian, known as Ek, said he was puzzled why he had not been charged with killing 64-year-old Mr Robertson. Ek and his ‘amateur pirate’ shipmates Aow, 18, and Ko, 17, have been charged only with kidnap, assault and theft.

Mr Robertson and his 57-year-old wife, from St Leonard's in East Sussex, had been sailing their yacht Mr Bean from Phuket in Thailand to the Malaysian island of Langkawi.

They were set upon after they moored off Butang Island in Tarutao National Marine Park on Tuesday.

Their assailants swam out to the mooring and attacked Mr Robertson as he tried to throw them off the boat.

Ek, who was born in Phuket to Burmese parents who were killed in a car crash when he was 14, said that he, Aow and Ko had been working aboard a Thai fishing vessel.

But he claimed that conditions were bad – with little or no pay and work that was too heavy for the teenagers to carry out – so they decided to jump ship.

Ek said: ‘Last week our fishing boat moored for the night between two islands off Satun. On one of the islands we could see a park ranger’s office and some sign of life, so we decided to swim there.

‘It was on the side of the boat that the crew couldn’t see. But after we jumped off the tide changed the boat’s position. It swung around 180 degrees so we had to swim around the boat and off with the current in the opposite direction to the other island, Butang.

‘But there was no food there. We didn’t eat for two days. We were marooned and we thought we would die there. On the third day we saw a yacht moored off the island and decided that at nightfall we would go there, try to get the yacht’s dinghy and take it to the other island and get some food.’

The yacht was the Robertsons’ 44ft ketch, which had taken the couple two thirds of the way around the world in their retirement from running their bakery business.

They had moored off uninhabited Butang Island and had spent the day swimming and sunbathing.

Ek added: ‘At midnight we swam to the yacht and climbed on board. At first we all looked for food on the top of the boat but there was none.

‘Then I found a hammer and decided to go downstairs for food. I got down and turned right and found a torch. I opened a door and saw a woman sleeping there.

‘I quietly shut it before she woke up. Looking around again I found a knife and thought I could use that to cut away the dinghy from the yacht.

‘Then I heard a cough from in front and figured that the wife must have been sleeping in one room and the man in the other. First of all the man just turned over and didn’t wake up. I crouched down and then started looking for food again.

‘Then he turned over again and quickly sat upright. Our eyes met. He came towards me shouting and I struck him twice with the hammer, knocking him semiconscious.'

‘He fell down and I went straight for the ladder. The lady must have heard because as I was going up she came out and screamed. I showed her the knife and shouted “Stop” in English. She stopped and I put her back into her room and tied her up.

‘I shouted for Ko to check to see if the man was dead. He said he was not dead. I told the boy to watch the lady and went to see the man.

‘As I went in he stumbled into me,’ said Ek, miming a head butt. ‘I was shocked and scared and hit him again with the hammer three or four times. On the final blow I heard a loud crack and he collapsed to the floor. I just used the hammer. I did not slit his throat as police have claimed.

‘After that we got the lady to start the boat. Then we sent her back to the room. We drove the boat for what seemed like only a couple of minutes before we put the engine on idle.

‘I went down with Aow and we pulled the body up to the top, put the legs over the side rails, lifted the body up and threw it off. I was worried people would see the blood on the boat. Now I don’t know why or how I could have done it. But none of us wanted the body on the boat.

‘From then on we ate everything we could find and decided to motor far away. When we got near to a port, which we found out was Satun, we decided to leave the ship. We locked Mrs Linda in the cabin, but we had loosened her ropes a little because she was complaining of the pain. Then we got into the dinghy. But it broke down a few yards away.

‘We tried to get back to the boat but she sailed away in front of us. After a while we got the outboard going and headed for shore. But we were picked up by the police very quickly.’

Last night Mrs Robertson said that Ek’s claims ‘leave me cold’. She added: ‘It’s easy to confess to a crime when you have been caught red-handed.

‘I am in disbelief that these men have only been charged with assault, theft and kidnap and not murder, not even manslaughter. However, if he gets 15 years or life it makes no difference to me.

‘The youngest of the three was the only person who showed any remorse. He brought me food and drink and stroked my feet which were in agony because they were tightly bound.

‘These people had a picnic on board the yacht and I could hear them laughing and joking as if they did not have a care in the world.’

She added: ‘I would rather think of the happy memories I had with my husband. Malcolm was a great kidder. He had everyone convinced that Rowan Atkinson sent him a sizeable cheque every year for using the name Mr Bean. Of course it was tosh, but he earned a few drinks out of that one.

‘I’m trying to close my mind to the bad memories and relive the fond ones.’

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Eksian Warapon, right, has confessed from jail to killing Malcolm Robertson with a hammer after boarding his boat with shipmate Aow, left.

[paul_au]

These crims are foolish, I bet if they used a bit of humility, using sign language saying they were starving and stranded, this couple would have taken them back to port and given them a meal, but no they had to kill this man, well I say they all deserve the death penalty.

[Khun Don]

Burmese fishermen may escape murder charge
By Jim Pollard
The Nation

Three Burmese fishermen charged with slaying a British yachtsman in the far South may escape a murder conviction and the death penalty because the victim's body has not been found.

An extensive search with aircraft, boats and divers continued yesterday off the far southwest coast near Satun for the body of Malcolm Robertson, 64.

The search is difficult because the exact spot where Robertson was thrown into the sea is unknown, but it is believed to have occurred in deep water and in an area with strong underwater currents.

Officials monitoring the case say a report on Friday that the missing man's body had been found was incorrect - only debris from the yacht had been seen.

Three Burmese men, aged 17, 18 and 19, have said they climbed on to the Robertsons' yacht because they were "starving" after fleeing rough conditions on a Thai fishing vessel to a nearby island.

They claim they went two days without food and were challenged by Robertson while desperately searching his yacht for food. The eldest of the three reportedly confessed to both Thai police and a British photographer that he killed Robertson with a hammer after a struggle - then lowered the Englishman's body into the sea.

The man's wife Linda Robertson confirmed the identity of the attackers and gave testimony in local courts - one for the two eldest accused and another for the 16-year-old - on Friday.

Mrs Robertson was tied up during the "horrifying" ordeal but managed to haul in the anchor and motor away to safety after the Burmese men left on a dinghy on Tuesday morning, nine to 10 hours after sneaking on board.

In an interview by phone, she expressed relief yesterday that the trio - described as "pirates" in extensive coverage in the UK press - had been caught so swiftly by the police, whose efforts she lauded.

She said she certainly felt the youngest of the Burmese was anguished about her husband's death, but she was not sure if the older pair were as remorseful as they had said. But she felt it was "irrelevant" if they faced a murder charge or manslaughter, as "it wouldn't bring Malcolm back".

"Unless they have the body they can't be charged for murder, but whatever happens they'll get 15 years in jail, and I don't think 15 years in a Thai jail would be an experience many would want to go through," she said."But we - for me and the family - want to find the body to have closure."

She and her husband left the UK 10 years ago to sail around the world, but had "loved Thailand so much" they remained here for three years. On Saturday she and the couple's four children - all in their 30s - held a service on the yacht ("Mr Bean") to remember Malcolm.

"The family are with me and that is a huge difference. We had a lovely moment on the bow of the boat her -not just tears, but laughter also… I wasn't quite as horrified to be on the boat as I thought I'd be."

While her children are due to fly home on Monday, Mrs Robertson said she would stay on while the search continues for her husband's body.

"The question is how long do you stay waiting? I have been told that a body can survive for at least three months in the water, which surprised me," Over 100 local fishing boats are keeping an eye out for the body, along with half a dozen large trawlers commissioned into the search, plus three Navy and marine police vessels, several spotter planes and helicopters. Local divers have also been talking to police about helping with the search.

[Surawut]

The Governor of Satun has announced that the body of Malcolm Robertson has been located near Adang Island on this the 7th day of the search and will be brought ashore later today.

[khunlungphudhu]

I shudder to think about the consequences this news of 'no body - no murder charge' could have upon law enforcement within the kingdom.
There have been quite a few recent cases where the outcome would have been very different had the perpetrator known of this 'get out'!

[Khun Don]

The Governor of Satun has announced that the body of Malcolm Robertson has been located near Adang Island on this the 7th day of the search and will be brought ashore later today.

I sincerely hope this is not another false alarm-would hate to see the murderers get away with it.

[Khun Don]

Body of slain British yachtsman found : Satun governor
By Jim Pollard/The Nation

Satun Governor Sumet Chailertwanichkul said Monday that a search team has found body of Malcolm Robertson, 64, who was allegedly killed by Burmese fishermen.

The search team found his body near Adang island on the seventh day of the searching. His body was expected to arrive in Satun's pier in La-ngu district in late afternoon, the governor said.

Earlier reports said the three Burmese fishermen charged with slaying Robertson in the far South may escape a murder conviction and the death penalty because the victim's body has not been found.
Officials monitoring the case say a report on Friday that the missing man's body had been found was incorrect - only debris from the yacht had been seen.

(Edited)

[Richard Barrow]

I hope Mrs Robertson can now do a proper funeral for her husband. May he rest in peace.

[Richard Barrow]

Sailing friends to hold memorial service for Brit in 'pirate' murder
Sailing friends and the family of yachtsman Malcolm Robertson are set to hold a memorial service on the Malaysian island of Langkawi after his body was found off Thailand late on Monday.

Daily Telegraph
By Andrew Drummond in Bangkok
Last Updated: 10:05PM BST 31 Mar 2009

Linda Robertson, 57, said she hoped that the Thai authorities would press a murder charge.

Speaking in Satun, South Thailand , where three Burmese migrant labourers are being held in custody, she added: "I believe only one of them is guilty of murder, but I do not want him to be sentenced to death. Apart from that I am in a foreign country and will leave it up to the Thai justice system." The body of Mr Robertson, 64, from St. Leonards, East Sussex, was formally identified at sea aboard a Thai fishing boat, by his son Dean, as the family were concerned that Thai newspapers would publish 'inappropriate' photographs.

The body had been found off Lipe Island, in Tarutao Marine Park, off South Thailand. The Robertsons had moored off Butang Island nearby when they were boarded by the three Burmese who had jumped a Thai 'slave ship'.

Arrangements have already been made to fly Mr. Robertson's boy home to Britain.

The Robertsons have berthed their yacht Mr. Bean on Langkawi for the last three years, returning to sail during the British winter.

It is expected that Eksian Warapong, 19, will be charged with murder and the two other Burmese, Aow, 18, and Koo, 16, will continue to faces charges of kidnap, assault and theft.

Last week Warapon confessed to the murder saying he bludgeoned Mr Robertson to death with a hammer after he put up a fight.

The three Burmese said that they had been sold to an agent by Thai police from a Thai immigration detention centre for just £100 each and put to work on the Thai fishing trawler Chai 6 based out of Phuket.

The youngest Koo had been on the ship for eight months without pay and without being allowed ashore.

They jumped ship onto an uninhabited desert island in the Butang Island group. They had not eaten for three days when the Robertson's arrived yacht arrived and moored offshore.

They said they just planned to take the yacht's tender and some food.