British Tourist Murdered by Pirates - Body Found

[Richard Barrow]

Yes it was on the news here today too. So far they have only been charged with robbery which could mean a 2,000 baht fine or 4 months in prison before being deported.

[Surawut]

Originally Posted by Richard Barrow View Post
Here are some comments being posted so far....

In general I agree with your statement Richard. I also have never felt in danger whilst living here. I hold as much affection for the Kingdom as any one else coming here to live or visit, but it's my opinion that far too many tourists, visitors and expats etc are going home in coffins, for whatever reason, not just as a result of murder. These murders can hardly be described as isolated incidents. how many in the last 6 months? 8 perhaps or 10 even? Some murders involving Farangs don't even make the newspapers here.

[paul_au]

We need to do a comparison, Great Britain has a similar population to Thailand, how many foreign tourist are murdered in Great Britain per year, compared with foreign tourists murdered in Thailand.
I would also like to make a comment, although it is relatively rare for foreign tourists to get murdered in Australia compared with other countries, there was a case where British tourist Peter Falconio was murdered in 2001 and his killer was convicted even though the body of Peter Falconio was never found. So hopefully they can get a murder conviction in this case, even if they don't find the body.

[Richard Barrow]

Police have now found the body near Koh Dong in the Andaman Sea.

[Khun Don]

Police have now found the body near Koh Dong in the Andaman Sea.

Good news so far as the law goes-and some comfort for his widow who can now give him a funeral. Poor lady.

[Khun Don]

Body of British yachtsman found floating in Thai sea

Friday, March 27, 2009


Malcolm and Linda Robertson were on a yacht off the Thailand coast

The body of a British tourist allegedly bludgeoned to death with a hammer and thrown overboard while sailing in Thailand was found by a fisherman today, Thai police said.

Malcolm Robertson, 64, from Hastings, East Sussex, was attacked on Monday evening off southern Thailand's Andaman coast.
His body was found floating in the sea by a Thai fisherman following a search by 30 marine police and volunteer divers, a Thai police spokesman said.
Three Burmese migrants have been accused of slitting the throat of 64-year-old Malcolm Robertson and throwing his body overboard when they raided his yacht as he sailed with wife Linda off the Andaman sea coast.

Mrs Robertson, 57, was tied up in the cabin of their 44ft yacht Mr Bean for around 10 hours in the raid on Monday. She was treated in hospital for minor injuries.
Mr Robertson owned a chain of coffee shops in and around his home town of Hastings, East Sussex.

Earlier, Mrs Robertson's brother, John Clee, 63, from Battle, East Sussex, said he hoped reports of the discovery of a body were true.
He said: "I've just had a text from Linda's son Darren saying that they have been hearing reports for the past few hours of a body being found but that in the past half-hour they've been told it was just flotsam and jetsam.

"Until I hear otherwise, I'm going to believe what he is telling me but I do hope the reports are true.
"I can't imagine not being able to bring the body back, to bring closure on all this.
"I just hope it's true. I don't know how Linda would feel having to come back without Malcolm, that would just be awful for her.
"It would be a dream come true as far as this situation is concerned because at the moment it is a nightmare and the whole family feels the same way."

Metro (UK)

[Khun Don]

Conflicting reports UK yachtie's body found
By: BangkokPost.com


Reports the body of British yachtsman Malcolm Robertson has been found floating in the Andaman Sea, confirming his murder by pirates, were discounted on Friday by the British Foreign Office.

"We had reports that a body had been found, but it's turned out to be a log,'' a Foreign Office spokeswoman said, news agencies reported.

Pol Col Lertchai Tinrat of the Thai marine police earlier told reporters a search by 30 officers and volunteer divers had been called off after a fisherman found his body floating near Koh Adang, off the coast of Satun province.

(Edited)

[noppelchen]

i think it's safe for me to generalize this: in my country the vast majority believes thailand is a country on the other side of the world where only sex tourists, pedophiles, cheapskates and transgenders travel to.

if you mention your vacations in thailand you can chose which prejudice they will have about you

murdered tourists don't play any role (we don't get to see such news anyways)

i would really be surprised if other western countries were less small minded about this

having said this i doubt cases like this have any real influence on tourism

[Richard Barrow]

"We had reports that a body had been found, but it's turned out to be a log,'' a Foreign Office spokeswoman said, news agencies reported.

That is so ubelievable. The news went around the world that his body was found and now it turns out to be a log!

[Richard Barrow]

Briton's killers escape murder charge
Wife hears case cannot go on until husband's body is found, despite confession

The Independent
By Cahal Milmo and Andrew Drummond in Satun, Thailand
Saturday, 28 March 2009

The widow of a British man beaten to death by Burmese pirates told yesterday of her disbelief that murder charges cannot be brought against his suspected killers.

Linda Robertson, 57, was informed by authorities in Thailand that the failure to find her husband's body after he was thrown overboard during the attack on board the couple's yacht meant proceedings for murder could not be brought against the three men arrested for the killing.

The trio of migrant fishermen, aged 17 to 19, have confessed to beating to death 64-year-old Malcolm Robertson with a hammer when they tried to rob his 44ft yacht, Mr Bean. The attack took place on Tuesday morning close to Bintang Island, 600 miles south of the Thai capital, Bangkok.

Mrs Robertson, from Hastings, East Sussex, spent nearly 10 hours testifying before two courts yesterday, recounting step-by-step how she heard her husband being attacked before treading in his blood on the deck of the boat as she tried to escape her captors.

Under Thai law, murder charges can only be brought if a body is found.

Despite three days of searching by authorities and fishermen, Mr Robertson's remains have not been found.

His family had their hopes raised yesterday when the Foreign Office released a statement suggesting a corpse had been recovered, but Thai police later said this had been a false alarm.

Mrs Robertson, who had been spending the winter months sailing around Thailand with her husband, said: "I can't believe the decision by prosecutors. I am in a state of total disbelief.

"These young men were almost caught red-handed. They confessed to everything. The police even have the bloodstained murder weapon.

"Yet there is no murder charge, not even a manslaughter charge. It's incredible." The three fishermen, who have been charged with theft, assault and kidnap, have claimed they boarded the Britons' boat after they were held as captive labourers on a Thai fishing boat and escaped when they saw Mr Bean at anchor nearby.

After being confronted by Mr Robertson, who owned a chain of coffee shops in and around Hastings, the men beat him around the head with a hammer.

Thai police believe the attackers then slit the businessman's throat before pushing him into the sea while his wife was tightly bound with ropes.

Mrs Robertson, who was held captive for 10 hours, described how the group then proceeded to have a "noisy picnic" on the yacht while the youngest attacker, a 17-year-old orphan called Ko, played with her mobile phone.

She added that she believed her husband's determination to confront the robbers had cost him his life.

She said: "He was not the sort of man that would just sit back and let things happen. I really wish he had been."