Engineer in Philippines 'was killed for money'
The brother of a Chester engineer murdered in the Philippines has told an inquest he was killed for money.
Philip Aitken, 43, was beaten to death by four people in Davao City on 20 October 2008 and buried in a garden.
Three people were jailed by a Philippine court for his murder.
An inquest at Warrington Coroner's Court recorded a verdict of unlawful killing. Stephen Aitken said his brother had been on holiday in the country at the time.
He told the inquest his brother had called at the house where his Philippine-born son lived, on his way back to the airport.
'Pursuit for justice'
"He was attacked on entering by four people, most of whom he knew," said Mr Aitken.
"He was tied up and beaten and his belongings were stolen and his cash card was taken."
The inquest heard that three people were given three life sentences for the murder of Mr Aitken in the Philippines.
Mr Aitken told the hearing that the attackers were unable to access his bank account and beat his brother to death when he refused to give them his Pin number.
A post-mortem examination found that Mr Aitken, who had dual British and Australian citizenship, died from head injuries.
Coroner for Cheshire Nicholas Rheinberg said: "The motive appears to have been extracting money from his bank account and also to steal his personal belongings.
Mr Rheinberg paid tribute to Stephen Aitken's "relentless pursuit for justice" and said that without his efforts his brother's attackers may not have been brought to justice.