The body of a British tourist allegedly bludgeoned to death with a hammer and thrown overboard while sailing in Thailand has been found by a fisherman, Thai police said.
Malcolm Robertson, 64, from Hastings, East Sussex, was attacked on Monday evening off southern Thailand's Andaman coast.
His body was found floating in the sea by a Thai fisherman following a search by 30 marine police and volunteer divers, a Thai police spokesman said.
The body was later identified by police as Mr Robertson, the spokesman added. It was discovered near Koh Adang, an island off the coast of Satun province, about 600 miles south of Bangkok.
Thai police arrested and charged three fishermen from neighbouring Burma on Tuesday with murder and robbery.
They allegedly confessed to climbing aboard the yacht, beating Mr Robertson with a hammer and throwing his body overboard after he found them trying to steal a dinghy. They then forced Mr Robertson's wife Linda, 57, to steer the yacht to shore, police said.
They fled in a raft when they saw Thai national park employees passing by in a boat, it is claimed. Mrs Robertson, who was stripped and tied up below deck for hours, escaped with minor injuries, police said.
The retired couple had been sailing their yacht, Mr Bean, from Phuket to the Malaysian island of Langkawi.
Police said the migrants tried to steal the raft because they were desperate to go ashore after having been forced to work for months at sea.
Police said they are still investigating the claims.
