Brother held over murder of Briton and his Thai wife
Nicola Smith, Nuttakarn Sumon
Francesca Marshall
THE bodies of a wealthy British businessman and his Thai wife have been recovered near their luxury home in Thailand after they were allegedly murdered in a contract killing ordered by the woman’s brother, police confirmed yesterday.
Alan Hogg, 64, originally from Edinburgh, was reportedly shot next to the couple’s duck coop and his wife Nott Suddaen, 61, bludgeoned to death with a wrench beside the garage of their three-storey house in the northern province of Phrae.
Three men, including the alleged mastermind, and Warut Satchakit, 63, Mrs Hogg’s older brother, have been charged with premeditated murder. The couple’s disappearance last Thursday led to a huge police search.
Yesterday morning, they used an excavator to explore a freshly dug patch of land on the Hoggs’ 32-acre property.
“We have found the bodies of the couple, they are buried by the canal,” said Maj Gen Sanpat Prabpudsa, the Thai police chief.
“Three suspects were traced from forensic checks on the car. They have confessed. They used a shotgun to kill Alan and buried him near the ducks.”
The bodies had been hidden in 6ft-deep graves. The police had earlier said they suspected the case was connected to a “longstanding conflict within the family”.
Mr Warut was initially arrested after CCTV showed him entering the couple’s gated property and leaving in their new white Ford Ranger pickup truck, which was sold to a Lao businessman a day later.
It was recovered on Monday 300 miles away near Bangkok. Mr Warut was charged with theft but denied any involvement in their disappearance and was released on a £2,400 bail.
According to the Bangkok Post, Mr Warut was detained again yesterday. He still denies the charges, but Pia Khamsai, 63, and Kittipong Khamwan, 24, his alleged accomplices, claimed he paid them 50,000 Baht (£1,175) to carry out the double murder.
Police said they suspected the case was connected to a ‘longstanding conflict within the family’