British Man Killed by 'Pirates' in Thailand

[cat man do]

Here you go, Thai Justice.

Catch the dudes, they confess to the killing, they have the murder weapons, they have a boat full of blood, but no murder charge, not even manslaughter.


I still find it bizarre that I can't really find anything in Thai or Malaysian media about this.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...e-1656042.html



Briton's killers escape murder charge

Wife hears case cannot go on until husband's body is found, despite confession

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."

[MarkJ]

For nine years the Robertsons had roamed the world in their yacht Mr Bean in Britain's winter months, relishing the journey. They had sailed many remote areas, crossed several oceans, and were enjoying the wild anchorages of the Tarutao National Park, around 40 nautical miles off the coast of southern Thailand. When Burmese teenagers dressed in rags swam to their boat, wanting to rob them, Malcolm Robertson resisted.
That was, apparently, his mistake.


Koh Dong (Dong Island) where Mr Bean was anchored at the time of the attack - .. .
Mrs Robertson told the BBC she believed her husband's decision to stand up to the men may have cost him his life.
'He was not the sort of man that would just sit back and let things happen. I wish really that he had been.'

from Sail-World.com : Thai pirate murder - the aftermath

I still like Slocums method, as Sabre says. It doesnt permanelty harm the underprivilaged poor people, but has the desired effect.

Any guns are given up on clearing into Thailand, (I think but can't quickly find a reference as my net connection is too slow.) so apropos other conversations thats not a relevent method...

Mark

[jimking100]

This is indeed a tragic affair but I wouldn't be concerned about about the fact that murder charges have not been issued yet against the 3 Burmese. I lived in Thailand for about a year (albeit a lifetime ago) and one thing I observed is that the Thais will meter out "justice" regardless of any quirks in the statutes. These three are toast...one way or another.
jim

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by jimking100

This is indeed a tragic affair but I wouldn't be concerned about about the fact that murder charges have not been issued yet against the 3 Burmese. I lived in Thailand for about a year (albeit a lifetime ago) and one thing I observed is that the Thais will meter out "justice" regardless of any quirks in the statutes. These three are toast...one way or another.
jim

If they are in prison now (see:Bangkok Hilton) they are toast. The Thais will keep them there, not charged, until a body shows up. Of course if it does not show up they will stay there. I once talked to someone who had been in there...no picnic!

[capcook]

For someone familar with Thia system, what would have happened to Mr. Robertson if he had put a few slugs in each of these SOBs and dumped them in the ocean? He would be guilty of not declaring his gun, but would they overlook that given the attack ?

[jimking100]

H
Then he would be toast. His best action then would have been to weigh anchor and head to Malaysia.
jim

[MoonlightShadow]

Originally Posted by s/v Moondancer

Statistical risk?
I looked up risk of being murdered in various places...

In round numbers (10's) the chances of being murdered by location per 100,000 people is:

USA generally 10 in 100,000
Miami 20 in 100,000
Caribbean 20 in 100,000
Somalia 30 in 100,000
Liberty City, Miami 40 in 100,000

What is the risk to cruisers? We are presently reading of about 1 murder per month...round numbers 10/year. The question then is: how many cruisers are there out there?

Is it 10,000? 100,000? or more? Is it an estimatable number?

Phil

England 1.5 per 100,000 (But showing a rising trend)

S.Africa 60 per 100,000 (Showing a reducing trend)

USA is showing a reducing trend.

It does not appear, however, that we can read anything into these statistics of significance to Cruisers. The reason being that the highest single attribution of Murders in the UK, for example, is "Within Family" where Husbands and Wives have killed each other, which does not seem a characteristic of cruising couples.

If you number crunch the statistics, one is 16 times more likely to die in a Road Traffic Accident, than through any cause at sea, be it piracy or anything else, wherever in the World you might be. Cruising is not an inherrantly dangerous activity. If it were, the insurance companies would tell you quite quickly. The actuary tables for given areas would make an interesting read.

The trouble is, that even if you are the 1 in 100 million statistic, it makes it no easier for your friends and family. There are no statistics, no words, no actions even, that can make it better. As cruisers and/or aspiring cruisers, we feel each and every loss, as they are "one of us" ...

one of our: community.

[cat man do]

Lets hope they really have recovered his body this time

Should be it for these guys if they have

Phuket Gazette - online English newspaper for Phuket, Thailand, with daily news, classified ads, yellow pages, business listings, upcoming events, event calendar, phuket events

Monday, March 30, 2009

Slain Briton's body recovered

The youngest of the three suspects grew up on Koh Phi Phi and speaks English, Thai and Burmese.

PHUKET CITY: After days of searching, the body of slain British sailor Malcolm Robertson was recovered by fisherman about 10 nautical miles north of Satun’s Lipeh Island at about 3pm today.

A source in the Marine Police said the fishermen are now bringing Mr Robertson’s remains by boat to Tu Tae Lam Pier in Satun’s La-Ngu District, where it is expected to arrive at about 7pm tonight.

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 to a nearby island from rough conditions on a Thai fishing vessel.

For the original report, click here.

The discovery of the body diminishes the chance that the youths will be able to avoid murder charges and possible death sentences.

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 on Friday.

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

In an interview by phone, she expressed relief yesterday that the trio 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 said. But she felt it was "irrelevant" if they faced a murder charge or manslaughter, as “it wouldn’t bring Malcolm back”.

She and her husband left the UK 10 years ago to sail around the world, but “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,” she said, adding that the service brought out laughter, as well as tears. “I wasn’t quite as horrified to be on the boat as I thought I’d be,” she said.

[johnmcntsh]

My thoughts and prayers are with Mrs Robertson and family.