Update:
A body was spotted off the coast Friday but currents carried it away before Marine Police arrived. Murder charges cannot be laid without a body, reports say.A SAVAGE attack by invaders who boarded a yacht off southern Thailand and killed the skipper today dismayed and horrified members of Phuket's yachting community.
Briton Malcolm Robertson, who was battered to death and thrown overboard, was sailing his yacht Mr Bean around the world with his wife, Linda, who managed to escape, reports say.
Yachting friends of the couple from Phuket were on their way today to southern Thailand to comfort Mrs Robertson, who is being treated for minor injuries in a local hospital.
At least four family members are also on their way from Britain to Thailand.
The attack took place off the southern province of Satun, where the Robertsons anchored Mr Bean after sailing south from Phuket, bound for Malaysia.
Andy Dowden, author of 'Andaman Sea Pilot' and managing director of Andaman Marine Consultants, said today he had not heard of this kind of attack in the region for at least 15 years.
''It's a real shock that something like that would happen,'' he said. Mr Dowden cautioned that the word ''pirates'' was usually only used in reference to attacks on the high seas.
He said he hoped the incident would be reported in context, and not exaggerated, because that could damage the yachting business in an otherwise peaceful part of the world.
Bob Mott, who runs a charter company, Faraway Yachting, said he was shocked to hear of the murder.
''I am absolutely amazed,'' he said.
''Satun is a really nice, peaceful area. People of all religions live there together. A lot of people sail down there to have their boats worked on, and never have any hassles with anyone.''
Regatta organiser and well-known Phuket yachting identity, Simon James, added: ''It's all very sad. In 15 years, we have never had any serious problems.''
The tragic death of the 64-year-old sailor is being viewed as a blow to the reputation of the region as being a safe place for yachting.
The couple, who have four children, had been sailing around the world for the last decade, returning to Britain to see their family every summer.
Phuket Marine Police chief, Colonel Anan Hongsaitong, said he was sorry to hear of the death of the British sailor.
In his six years on Phuket, the colonel said there had never been an incident quite like this one, although several yachts had been invaded.
He said any attack within Thailand's 12-mile limit could not, strictly speaking, be called piracy. Piracy was reserved for the high seas, he said.
Satun was close to the Straits of Malacca, which had earned international notoriety for pirate attacks, he added.
The owners of fishing trawlers in the Satun region employed many Burmese on their vessels because it was work Thais did not want to do, he said.
The attackers are believed to have boarded Mr Bean soon after midnight on Monday morning.
Britain's Daily Mail newspaper reported that Mr Robertson went to fend off the gang but they launched a ''frenzied attack,'' beating him with a hammer before barging into his wife's cabin.
She was taken out of her cabin and saw ''blood everywhere'' but no sign of her husband before she was tied up below deck.
It is thought that the gang may have slit Mr Robertson's throat before throwing his body overboard.
''The pirates sailed the 44ft yacht through the night,'' the newspaper reported. ''After 12 hours, they abandoned the luxury craft, making off in a small dinghy tied alongside after loading it up with electrical goods including laptops and video players.''
Mrs Robertson, 58, heard them leave, managed to wriggle free of the ropes, then was spotted by the pirates who turned back.
But she managed to outrun them to a nearby fishing vessel, where the crew called for help.
Police were today holding three Burmese as suspects in the murder case.
The last regional invasion to make international news was the strange case in Kata of a frogman who boarded a yacht then threatened the man and woman on board.
Kata Killing: Merlin Skipper Ready to Sail
Six months of waiting is over for the sailor at the centre of a strange night on board the Merlin that led to the death of a frogman.
Kata Killing: Merlin Skipper Ready to Sail
As tragic and horrific as this crime is, it should also be taken in context. Murders aboard sailing yachts in Thai waters are almost unheard of. This is not to say there is zero danger (on yachts anywhere in the world) but rather it's important to bring some balanced point of view on what is unfortunately a 'sensational' report by its very nature.
Tragic and horrific end for the British mariner. His poor wife must feel as though she's in the midst of a nightmare. May she be united and find comfort with family and friends and may the killers be brought to bear under full justice.
Posted by Baht&Sold on March 25, 2009 14:15