Fishermen kill British yachtsman

Three Burmese fisher¬men hijacked a yacht off the Satun coast on Monday and killed its owner - an elderly British national - before being ar¬rested by local police.

The suspects - identi¬fied merely as Ek, 18; Ow, 19; and Ko, 20 - narrowly escaped a mob attack by angry Thai touristbusi¬ness operators when brought to La Ngu police station.

Body thrown overboard

The search for the body of Malcolm Robertson, 64, which was thrown over¬board, continued all day yesterday. The crimes took place at around 5pm on Monday and police report that the suspects have con¬fessed.

Quoting the victim's wife, Linda, police said their yacht "Mister Mean" was boarded by the three suspects, who tried to steal its rubber dinghy. Robertson confronted them and was hacked to death.

The suspects identified themselves as crew mem¬bers of the fishing trawler Wichai 6, which had been anchored close to Mister Mean. The British couple had been on their way to Langkawi in Malaysia.

Provincial authorities have requested extra po¬lice and Navy patrols in the area.