A British man was murdered by pirates aboard his yacht off southern Thailand while his wife was locked in a cabin. The body of Malcolm Robertson, 64, was thrown overboard near Koh Dong, an island about 45 miles west of the Satun province near the border with Malaysia, on Monday evening. Reports suggested Mr Robertson was beaten to death with a hammer or had his throat slit with a knife.

Three Burmese men have been arrested on suspicion of murder. Apparently, Mr Robertson had tried to stop them as they climbed on to his yacht, named Mr Bean, to steal a dinghy. Initial reports suggest that Mr Robertson's wife Linda, known as Lindy, was locked in a cabin as the three men fought her husband. When she emerged, she found blood on the deck but no sign of her husband, waved down a passing vessel and called police.

It remains unclear how Mrs Robertson sustained the minor injuries for which she is now being treated in hospital, although a scuffle with the fishermen is the likeliest explanation. She is reported to have said: "They wanted the dinghy and started hitting Malc about the head."

Yesterday Mrs Robertson's brother, John Clee, said: "It was such a stupid, pathetic thing, because they were just trying to pinch a few credit cards and computer things."

He said his sister feared she would be killed too but the three men fled the vessel before being caught by police.

He added: "She's got swollen arms and legs because she was tied up for eight to 10 hours in the cabin. She didn't know what was happening to Malcolm, she was kept locked up."

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 53408.html

Wednesday 25 March 2009