Mekong Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 A British man on holiday in Thailand has been murdered by pirates who were attempting to steal his yacht. Malcolm Robertson and his wife Linda were on their boat, the Mr Bean, which was anchored off the coast of Satun when the raiders struck last night. Mr Robertson, who is from Eastbourne, was reportedly beaten to death with hammers and his body then thrown overboard. Police have arrested three Burmese migrant workers on suspicion of his murder. 'They tried to steal the dinghy and beat Mr Robertson with their fists and hammers until he died,' Police Colonel Virat Ohn-song, chief of the La-ngoo district police station, said. He said police were searching for the body. The British embassy in Thailand said it was assisting Mrs Robertson, who suffered minor injuries. 'We are aware of an attack overnight on a British couple off the coast of Satun in southern Thailand. We are urgently pursuing this case with the Thai police,' an embassy spokesman said. Fishermen had reported the yacht apparently adrift. When police investigated, the three suspects tried to flee in the dinghy and were arrested, Virat said. Thailand is one of the world's most popular tourist destinations, luring some 14 million tourists annually, with Britain the biggest Western market. Mr Robertson and his wife, who have at least three grandchildren, have been sailing around the world since June 1998, returning to Britain at frequent intervals. Over the next few years, Mr Robertson recounted their epic journey in a sailing blog. In a profile section, entitled Mr Bean at Sea, he describes himself as the captain, noting the crew consists of 'Admiral Lindy Robertson'. 'Left UK from Eastbourne Marina on June 15, 1998, and have nearly sailed around the world, mostly just the two of us,' he said. A photo album on the site shows an idyllic life of sun, sea and sailing with family and friends, including the Robertsons' young grandchildren, joining them regularly. The blog comes to an abrupt end in September 2007, the year when Mr Robertson put his yacht up for sail with an asking price of around £330,000. Poignantly, he noted: 'Still the excitement is there after nine years.' Source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pe7e Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 It's getting major air time on the UK television stations, another nail in the thai tourism coffin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 Hi, Saw this mentioned on TV last night. This bit "who have at least three grandchildren" struck me as odd though in the article. Why include that? It has no relevance whatsoever. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TroyinEwa/Perv Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 This whole story just sounds odd. I am a skeptic and I guess I always look for things that don't look right and I admit it's a flaw but the bells are ringing about this story. Here are my red flag points...... "He said police were searching for the body."- Lots of blood so I'm sure he's dead but no body yet. Minor issue but just stuck with me. "The British embassy in Thailand said it was assisting Mrs Robertson, who suffered minor injuries.- The husband was violently beaten to death but she had minor injuries. "The blog comes to an abrupt end in September 2007, the year when Mr Robertson put his yacht up for sail with an asking price of around £330,000."- Money comes into play here. Been on the market for around 2 years. Were they needing money? Were things not going well between them? "...beating him with a hammer before barging into his wife's cabin."- Hmmmm...not sleeping together. Things might not have been all cozy between the 2. "..she managed to wriggle free of the ropes, but was spotted by the pirates who turned back. The brave grandmother then took control of the boat and managed to outrun them."- She got free of her ropes, the pirates saw her (in the dark) and she was able to get a 44ft yacht up to speed before they could get to her. If they could see her in the dark, they couldn't have been very far away. How could she have had time to come up from below and get things in order fast enough and outrun them before they could get to her? "They've murdered Malcolm."- And odd choice of words. Murder leads one to believe it was thought out and planned. Why didn't she say they killed him instead of murdered him?? Maybe it's just me but this story has alot of oddities in it. It will be interesting to find out if the real truth is ever found...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faustian Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 Agreed, it is a very strange tale. 3 guys admitted to it though...found them real quick too, which is also unusual and surprising... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 Considering there are Burmese illegals, I'd take any "confession" with a grain of salt. The Thai coppers can get them to say whatever they want them to say... Cheers, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 Bangkok Post 25 Mar 2009 3 arrested for yachtie's murder Thai police have arrested three Burmese fishermen suspected of murdering a British yachtsman sailing off the Andaman sea coast, officials said on Wednesday. Malcolm Robertson, 64, reportedly had his throat slashed in front of his wife Linda before he was thrown into the sea near Dong island, 70 kilometres off Satun province late on Monday. Authorities were still searching for his body . The raiders forced his wife to sail toward land, then escaped in a rubber dinghy after she tried to seek help from a passing official boat, Pol Capt Supalak Pongkanjana said. Police later arrested the three men who worked on a fishing boat based nearby, he said. Pol Capt Supalak said the three had given full confessions but had only been charged with robbery and assault so far as police had not found Robertson's body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colorwolf Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 well...if you name your boat "mr bean" something terrible is bound happen, right... odd that it took so long... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyinngsporran Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 The survivor has now spoken www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/5048234/British-woman-Linda-Robertson-speaks-of-escape-from-pirates-who-killed-her-husband.html Hopes this passes your close scrutiny Mekong :content: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TroyinEwa/Perv Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 The story Flash posted contradicts some of what was printed before(not that that's strange in Thailand) so it makes it even MORE interesting. "had his throat slashed in front of his wife Linda" is one version but this one says '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' Another version, which was updated since I clicked on it, said that she was in her cabin and came out and saw all the blood. Lots of inconsistant facts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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