Volume 16 Issue 13 News Desk - Tel: 076-236555 March 28 - April 3, 2009 Daily news at www.phuketgazette.net 25 Baht The Gazette is published Paiboon gets in association with British man killed in ‘yellow card’ Andaman pirate attack from EC By Kamol Pirat INSIDE By Khunakorn Terdkiatkhachorn SATUN: Three Burmese men were arrested by police on Tues- day, March 24 in Satun province for suspected piracy and the al- leged murder of a British man on board a private yacht when it was anchored off a remote island about 75km southwest of the mainland. On the night of Monday, March 23, British couple Malcolm Stuart Robertson, 64, and his wife Mrs Linda Anne PHUKET CITY: The Election Robertson, 60, were resting be- Mrs Robertson is helped ashore by Satun Police after a horrific ordeal at sea in which pirates attcked her and her husband on their yacht. Commission (EC) in Bangkok has ‘Mr Football’ low deck in separate compart- ‘yellow-carded’ Phuket Provin- ESPN STAR Sports presenter ments of their £3-million, 13.32- floating about 2km north of Khao registered their arrival in Phuket cial Administration Organization John Dykes talks exclusively meter yacht Mr Bean, which Yai Island, Satun Province. on January 12 and then left the President Paiboon Upatising and to the Gazette ahead of the was anchored off Dong Island in Mrs Robertson is said to province on March 9. It is not a fellow PPAO member for elec- Laguna-ESPN charity event. Satun Province, when they were have suffered minor injuries af- known whether they stayed on toral fraud in Thalang and has See page 23. attacked by pirates, La-Ngu ter being beaten and tied to the their boat or in rented accommo- recommended that new elections Ampur Police Sergeant, Captain mast of the yacht by the pirates dation during their stay in Phuket. be held to fill both seats. NEWS: New Phuket Suppaluk Chatayaporn, told the and was taken to La-Ngu Hospi- However, the couple had stayed According to a press re- Governor’s plan for the Gazette. tal. The semi-retired couple were at Royal Phuket Marina on a pre- lease on the EC website, the rul- province; Brit sentenced Mr Robertson is believed to seasoned sailors and had sailed vious visit in 2007. ing was handed down during a for ATM fraud. have been killed in the attack and in the region at least once before. After leaving Phuket, the March 19 meeting of the EC, in Pages 2 & 3 his body thrown overboard. Mrs This time, they were sailing to couple headed for Phi Phi island which verdicts were reached in LIFESTYLE: Phuket Robertson was rescued by Satun Malaysia after leaving Phuket and were making their way to a number of electoral fraud cases joins over 1 billion people Police and National Park rang- earlier this month. Lankawi, Malaysia, where they from around the country. world wide for Earth Hour. ers the following day when they According to Phuket City planned to leave their yacht and The EC ruled in favor of a Page 16 discovered the couple’s yacht Immigration records, the couple Continued on Page 2 complaint lodged by Thalang Dis- trict 3 candidate Apinan Wongna, GARDENING: Patrick who lost out to rival candidate Campbell ponders Thai- Canadian condo owner claims false arrest Sawat Muchawej for the seat. land’s ‘flowers of fortune’. By Kamol Pirat PHUKET CITY: A Canadian gration and Labor Department The press release did not Page 32 man who has lived in Phuket for officials, he was escorted by Im- say what evidence was provided over a decade has been arrested migration police to Tah Chat Chai by Mr Apinan. ENVIRONMENT 4 & 5; ARO- for working illegally in Thailand, Police Station, where he was for- Ruling that both Mr Paiboon UND THE NATION 6; ARO- a charge he claims stems from a mally charged at around 1pm. and Mr Sawat had been involved UND THE SOUTH 7; ARO- dispute over maintenance fees Mr Nixon, from Toronto, in vote-buying, the EC ordered UND THE REGION 8; GOOD with one of the co-owners of a was detained in a cell for about by-elections to fill both seats. LIVING 10; PEOPLE 12 & condominium complex in which three hours while his lawyer and Under the EC rules, candi- 13; HAPPENINGS 14; AF- he owns five units. police disputed the validity of the dates given ‘yellow cards’ can TER DARK 15; LIFESTYLE 17; Phuket Immigration Police, condominium Chanote title deed run again in the by-election, while WHAT’S ON 19; MO-NEY led by Investigations Inspector he had brought with him to post those issued ‘red cards’ cannot. TALKS 20; TAKE A BREAK Suparerk Pankosol, on March 24 police bail. The document was Mr Paiboon, who has held 21 & 22; EDITORIAL 24; arrested 49-year-old Canadian eventually accepted and Mr the office for almost a year, de- FIRST PERSON 25; HORO- national James “Jimmy” Nixon. Nixon was released around 9pm. nied any wrongdoing. SCOPES, HUMOR 26; MOTOR- Mr Nixon was earlier this Speaking to the Gazette He said that he had always ING 27; SPORTS 28; DESIGN month asked by Immigration of- from inside his jail cell, Mr Nixon carried out his duties as PPAO 30; DECOR 31; PROPERTY ficials to present himself for ques- explained that he started spend- president in a fair and transpar- WATCH 34; CLASSIFIED ADS tioning on March 23. ing winters in Thailand about 20 ent manner. “If I had bought 36-48. After questioning by Immi- Continued on Page 2 Continued on page 2 2 PHUKET GAZETTE NEWS March 28 - April 3, 2009 EC ruling on Paiboon Pirate attack Continued from page 1 Continued from page 1 Man arrested votes, I would have to get my in- fly back to the UK. vestment back,” he said. Mrs Robertson told police for money- He will be allowed to con- that on the night of the attack, she tinue in his duties as normal until and her husband were sleeping lender murder the Appeals Court makes its rul- in separate compartments down TUNG TONG: Tung Tong Police ing on the case. below when she heard a commo- have arrested a man suspected “I’m a little disappointed tion on deck. of the fatal stabbing of a 62-year- with the EC, but I’m confident There are conflicting re- old moneylender almost two that the judicial process will give ports in British and local media years ago. me justice,” he said. as to whether Mrs Robertson Manop Khobwet, 33, was In addition, the commission was discovered by the pirates drinking with friends at his house reached a majority decision to below deck or whether she came in tambon Maifard in Trang prov- press for criminal charges against up on her own accord. The Ga- ince when police arrived and took Mr Thawee Phanthip, Mr So- zette has been unable to contact him into custody at around 6pm msak Torthip, Mrs Lamai Maiso Mrs Robertson directly to hear on March 23. and Miss Siriwan Santisukthirakul her version of the events. Kajorn “Ko Jorn” Somnam for distributing cash to eligible vot- According to police, Mrs La-Ngu Police display the three Burmese men suspected of piracy and died in his home in May 2007 af- ers. Robertson said she was set upon murder, along with items seized upon their arrest. ter being stabbed twice, once in All four are understood to by the pirates and tied to the the neck and once in the torso. be canvassers based in tambon yacht’s mast. The pirates then The three Burmese arrested Koh Dong but had run out of A statement released to the Pa Khlok. sailed the yacht towards the main- claimed to be fishermen who had food. When they spotted Mr and press by Tung Tong Police said The EC ruling did not land. been working on a trawler named Mrs Robertson’s yacht anchored that Mr Manop told them he had specify the date of the by-elec- On Tuesday March 24, fish- Vichai 6. The suspects have been near the island, Mr X said they worked for Mr Kajorn as a rub- tion, which is to be organized by ermen in the Tarutao Marine named by police as Mr Ao, 19, swam out to the yacht with the ber cutter. Phuket Election Committee Di- National Park area, about 60km Mr Go, 20, and Mr X, 18, who intention of stealing the inflatable, It said that Mr Manop con- rector Supap Akkam. from Satun mainland, noticed the was born and lived on Phi Phi Is- when they saw that the lights on fessed to carrying out the killing in Despite the ruling’s appear- Mr Bean and suspected some- land, and is the only one of the board had been dimmed. a fit of jealous rage, after he found ance on the EC website, Mr thing strange was happening suspects who has been able to When the suspects were his wife at Mr Kajorn’s house, Supap told the Gazette on March aboard the yacht. They reported converse with investigators, as he brought ashore at Pakbara Pier wearing nothing but a towel. 23 that he had yet to receive any what they saw to Tarutao Na- speaks Thai and English, said in Satun Province, a crowd of lo- Mr Manop also confessed official confirmation of the ruling tional Park rangers, who alerted Captain Suppaluk. cals attempted to assault the sus- to trying to steal a land title deed or instructions from the EC, Satun Police.