The bodies of Alan Hogg and his Thai wife Nhot Suddaen were found buried in their garden.
The daughter of a couple who were murdered in Thailand has told of her anger after the killers had their death sentences overturned.
The bodies of Alan Hogg, 64, and his Thai wife Nhot Suddaen, 61, were found buried in the garden of their 32-acre mansion in Phrae province.about:blank?unblock=true
Nhot’s brother Warut Rattanasajjakit, 64, planned the double murder and paid two hitmen 50,000 baht (£1199) to help him kill the couple.
All three were found guilty last May of premeditated murder at Phrae Provincial Court and sentenced to death by lethal injection.
But the couple’s daughter Robyn Hogg, 33, has said the family have been informed her parents’ killers will no longer face the death penalty.
The businesswoman, who lives in Glasgow, said: “The death sentences were retracted, we only found out about it last week.
“It’s difficult. We’re not happy about it. We are getting mixed messages from the Thai courts. We don’t know if it’s one sentence or all the sentences.
“I’m speaking to my lawyer to get a better picture of what’s happening. I’m told we have time to appeal.”
Warut paid Kittipong Kamwan, 25, and Phia Kamsai, 64, to shoot wealthy businessman Alan, originally from Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, with a shotgun while he bludgeoned his sister to death using a car wrench in September 2018.
A fourth defendant, Suma Utpamoon, 61, received a 25-year prison term, halved from 50 years because he co-operated with the investigation.
The killers then dug a hole outside the couple’s home to bury them.
According to the court’s ruling, Warut initially asked his neighbour Utpamoon to assist him in the murders but he refused after learning that he wanted to kill his sister.
However Suma was still paid by Warut for recommending the two men who did agree to carrying out the killings and was charged with assisting premeditated murder.
The couple’s bodies were discovered by sniffer dogs after they were reported missing and a police investigation began.
Robyn flew to Thailand when she found out her parents had vanished and was present at the trial’s verdict.https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/widgets/established/general?fixedheight&webreachnews&theme=dailyrecord
Retired oil engineer Alan was found buried alongside Nhot in a six-foot hole behind a duck pond in the grounds of their home.
Warut and the two hitmen confessed to murder and concealing the body while Utpamoon admitted acting as an “agent’ to help with the plan.
It emerged that Warut had fallen out with Alan and Nhot, who got married in Edinburgh in 1986.
He had become jealous of Alan’s wealth, which he had used to build a luxury mansion while Nhot’s brother lived in a wooden hut next door.
Warut was “angry and resentful” at being “scolded” by Alan for constantly borrowing money from the couple, police said.
Detectives were able to connect the brother-in-law to the killings when the couple’s new white Ford Ranger was bought in Laos for £9800.
After watching TV news reports, the car buyer contacted the authorities and returned the vehicle, telling them he had bought it from hill tribe people in Sukhothai.about:blank?unblock=true
It transpired that Warut had sold it to the tribe for £4600 after the murders.
Alan had been involved with several businesses in the UK, including a laundry company in Bonnyrigg. He previously worked as an engineer and his occupation is listed as offshore construction manager.
A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesman said: “We continue to support the family of a British couple who died in Thailand in 2018 and our staff are in contact with the local authorities.”
