Wife faces sailor murder accused

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The wife of an East Sussex man thought to have been killed by pirates has faced the three men accused of his murder in court in Thailand.

Linda Robertson, 57, of Hastings, told two courts how she feared for her life after being tied up for 10 hours by robbers who killed her husband.

It is believed Malcolm Robertson, 64, had his throat cut before his body was thrown into the Andaman Sea on Monday.

Three Burmese migrants have been accused of his murder.

Mrs Robertson first gave evidence in an adult court where she faced and identified two of her attackers.

'False alarm'

She then recounted her ordeal again in a juvenile court where she faced a 16-year-old, said to be the third member of the group that boarded their yacht 45 miles west of Satun in Southern Thailand.

The BBC's Alastair Leithead said: "At the moment evidence is still being gathered and the judges wanted a precise record of what happened - charges will be laid against the three men - all Burmese migrant workers - in the days ahead."

The search for the body of Mr Robertson was called off for another day on Friday.

An earlier report that the body of Mr Robertson had been found was discounted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The family were treating reports that a body had been found as a "false alarm", Mrs Robertson's brother, John Clee, 63, from Battle, East Sussex, said.

"I received a text message from one of Linda's children this morning. He said that he had been told there was a body originally, but the consulate had since told him it was a false alarm.

"As far as we are concerned, we are treating it as a false alarm."

Mr Robertson had been sailing near Koh Dong island with his wife when their yacht was boarded by the men as they slept.

The couple, who lived in Hastings and had been married for 25 years, had two children each from previous relationships and seven grandchildren between them.

All four children have now arrived in Thailand to support Mrs Robertson.