Body of Pirate Victim Found at Sea

Attackers said they were desperate for a boat to get to shore, according to police

By Mary Papenfuss, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 27, 2009 6:13 AM CDT

(Newser) – The body of a British yachtsman murdered by pirates off the coast of Thailand was found by a fisherman yesterday floating in the sea, reports AP. Malcolm Robertson, 64, was beaten with hammers and his throat slit as his wife lay bound in the cabin of their sailboat earlier this week. Three teenage Myanmar fisherman have been arrested in the murder. They said they attacked Robertson when he discovered them stealing his dinghy.

The men told police they were desperate to get to shore after being forced to work for months at sea. Thailand draws migrant workers from Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar who take menial and dangerous jobs shunned by the locals.

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Malcolm Robertson and his wife pose on their sailboat. (Robertson web site)

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Linda Robertson describes how she was bound, gagged and held at knifepoint while her husband was killed and thrown overboard in a pirate attack off the coast of Thailand. (itnnews)

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Body of Pirate Victim Found at Sea