Killers’ confession
Dramatic moment that brother points out the shallow grave where he ‘helped bury sister and Scots husband’
THREE men accused of murdering a retired Scots businessman and his Thai wife were yesterday taken back to the crime scene by police to explain how they carried out the killings.
Alan Hogg was allegedly blasted with a shotgun near his swimming pool while his wife, Nott, was said to have been bludgeoned to death with a hammer in the garage of their mansion.
The couple’s bodies were discovered buried next to a duck pond at their luxury property in Phrae, northern Thailand.
Mrs Hogg’s brother, Warut Satchakit, 63, has been accused of ordering the murders amid a feud with his 61-year-old sister over money.
Police initially said Satchakit paid three assassins but yesterday detectives said he admitted taking part in the killings with the help of two paid accomplices.
Satchakit was ‘angry and resentful’ at being ‘scolded’ by 64-year-old Mr Hogg for constantly borrowing money from his wife, police said.
Officers say he contacted a friend in a neighbouring province who arranged for a contract killer to shoot Mr Hogg while Satchakit and another man beat Mrs Hogg with a hammer at 6pm on Tuesday last week.
The couple, who married in Morningside, Edinburgh, in 1986, leave a 31-year-old daughter, Robyn, who lives in Manchester.
A film director who studied at Edinburgh Napier University, she was alerted to their disappearance by friends who became concerned when the Hoggs did not respond to messages and then found the couple’s house empty.
Mr Hogg, who was born in Zambia, had several business interests in the UK and until recently was a director of laundry firm Professional Linen Services, based in Bonnyrigg, Midlothian. The company was sold last year.
He built the couple’s substantial retirement home himself.
The three-storey mansion has an outdoor pool complete with changing rooms and a summer house.
All three of the alleged killers were taken to the property yesterday wearing police helmets in case anyone tried to attack them.
The men pointed to the 6ft hole where they are said to have buried the bodies.
The man alleged to have shot Mr Hogg, a 63-year-old named Phia Kamsai, arrived separately from the other two. Like the others, he was also taken to Satchakit’s house, which is next door to the Hoggs’ property, to show police where the killings were plotted.
He was pictured smiling and laughing while sitting outside in a white T-shirt. The three used Mr Hogg’s own digger to make a deep hole before they dumped the bodies at 8pm, police said.
Satchakit, in a black top and jeans, was seen in handcuffs pointing to the grave.
He was then joined by the younger alleged hitman, Kittipong Kamwan, who pointed at the same spot on the ground.
Satchakit is said to have confessed to beating his sister with a hammer in the garage while Kamwan, 24, held her down, detectives said.
According to police, Kamsai then allegedly blasted Mr Hogg with a shotgun in the garden after Satchakit paid him the equivalent of £1,175 in Thai baht.
Police Lieutenant General Poonsap Prasertsak said all three men had now been charged with premeditated murder and will be held in custody while prosecutors prepare their case.
Mr Prasertsak added: ‘Today, the suspects returned to the scene to show how they buried Alan and Nott. All three men pointed to the scene.
‘The interrogation has progressed and all three men have now confessed. The motive for this incident was personal problems between Mr Satchakit and his sister and her husband.
‘Police are gathering more evidence and will extend the investigation to anyone who had contact with the men. The investigation will continue until it is resolved.’
Mr Hogg arrived in Thailand several years ago, having worked as an offshore construction engineer in Australia.
He and his wife travelled regularly to Australia for extended holidays.
‘All three pointed to the scene’