Andrew Drummond, a British journalist based in Bangkok, said that in one case a former Scottish public schoolboy signed over his will worth £250,000 to a friend of Gordon May, 59. A day after Mr May had received a copy of the will the badly charred body of the young man was found in a hotel owned by him and the other Scot, James Lumsden, 46.

The court in Pattaya also heard from Kevin Quill, 41, a Yorkshire businessmen who had invested over £300,000 in a project put forward by Mr May and Mr Lumsden. When he queried his investments, however, he suddenly found himself on drugs charges and a day after his arrest his computers were wiped of his investment records and he was stripped of his assets.

Mr Drummond has entered a defence of truth and in the public interest against a charge of libel brought by Mr Lumsden.

The journalist told the court that after the death of Iain MacDonald, the former public schoolboy, he had read reports in Scotland which suggested the family were suspicious about the circumstances.

As a result, he said, he went to the family hotel in Inverness and was shown the will that had been sent from Thailand. He said the will had been witnessed by Mr May and Mr Lumsden and the beneficiary was a Thai man called Supan Kampanya.

“I found the Thai man and he told me he got nothing. He said he expected nothing. He said he was just May’s boyfriend and was ordered to go to a lawyer’s office when the will was made,” he said.

“The mother and family of Iain MacDonald have asked me to bring this attention to the court and Mrs MacDonald has written an affidavit saying that she believes her son was cheated.”

He added: “I wrote a story with the intention of warning foreigners about getting involved in the sex business in Thailand and about these two men in particular.” The story was published in Britain and in the Bangkok Post.

Mr Quill told the court that he had never taken any drugs in his life but found himself on drugs charges while he was staying at the pair’s hotel.

Mr Quill, who was sentenced to six years for possessing 100 methamphetamines hidden in a packet of Benson & Hedges cigarettes in his luggage, said that a local policeman was on Mr Lumsden and Mr May’s payroll. He said that he knew because: “I had to pay him as well.” The court was told that he subsequently complained to the police and had received an apology from the director general of the Royal Thai Police in Bangkok.

The case was adjourned until September 30 for judgment.

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