Have you noticed how many western men living in Thailand seem to suffer violent deaths?

Fatal road accidents, burglaries gone wrong and balcony death plunges occur almost daily to Western men living in Thailand. Usually they warrant only a couple of lines in the newspaper. Recently, however, I learned about one of these cases in more detail.

Earlier this year my Thai girlfriend went back to Buriram to renew her ID card. Ahead of her in the queue was the widow of a recently deceased westerner who was weeping and being comforted by her brother. She was seeking the authority to claim her dead husband's estate.

When asked for the death certificate, she tearfully explained that her husband had died only the previous day and the hospital had not issued it yet. The desk officer said that he could not process her claim without it.

Suddenly, her tears dried. Over several hours, she argued with officials in a voice loud enough for the growing crowd to hear. It turned out that she had been married for just six months to her farang husband. He had finished building their house only two days previously. On the day of his death, they were celebrating its completion with a small party.

She explained that as they were returning home by motorbike, they were hit by a pick-up truck. Her husband was killed instantly. Sadly, such accidents are not rare in rural Thailand. On the face of it, this was just tragic bad luck but as the discussion continued some facts emerged that cast doubt on this version of events.

After the accident, the driver of the pick-up ferried her husband's body to the hospital morgue. Drivers typically flee the scene of an accident in Thailand because they have nothing to gain from hanging around. Perhaps he was just trying to do the right thing. Perhaps he did not consider that his actions would deny police the opportunity to examine the crash scene. The wife was lucky. She was the pillion passenger but survived the fatal accident with no visible injury.

As time wore on and patience wore thin, her "brother" pitched in. Dressed in army fatigues, he looked like a tough guy. The couple's body language began to give onlookers the impression that they enjoyed a rather more intimate relationship. He was pestering her about how much money he would get.

Leaving this story aside for a moment, let's consider a hypothetical situation. If you were an aging bar girl with a Thai boyfriend and were tired of selling your body, you might be tempted to marry a rich farang. He could build you a house and support your dependants. Obviously your boyfriend and family would be in on it from the start.

Six months down the line, the farang has finished his spending spree and just wants a quiet life. The house may be in your name, but the remaining cash is still his. If you threw him out now, you would be back to square one. Your boyfriend has been swallowing his pride for six months. He may not be squeamish about doing the necessary. It could be made to look like an accident.

Coming back to the real-life story, the onlookers amused themselves by indulging in whispered speculation. Even if there was no foul play involved, you have to feel distaste at the family's haste to cash in. The police did launch an investigation but I don't know the outcome. Maybe a reader can shed some light on it.

Relationship breakdown is always costly but some hapless western men may end up paying the ultimate price.

http://www.mangosauce.com/farang_life/thai_wife_murder_you_for_cash.php

Thai wife barbecues English husband and feeds him to tigers

The Thai woman who arranged for her English ex-husband to be barbecued and had his remains scattered around a tiger sanctuary was jailed for life today.

Pannada Charnaud, 35, was led in chains to the cells after a judge told her that even though she had not dealt a blow she had arranged the death of Toby Charnaud, 41, "just as if she had struck him herself."

Three other defendants, relatives and neighbours recruited for the murder from her home village of Yasothon, north-east Thailand, were also sentenced to life imprisonment for premeditated murder.

As she was led away, Pannada said: "I have no comment. I just want to see my son.î

Pannada, who is now using her maiden name Laoruang, had denied premeditated murder. Her coconspirators, Boontin Puipong, 31, Sattri Sripatum, 28, and Nipit Satabut, 27, admitted murder with provocation.

Body parts of Mr Charnaud, a former Marlborough College pupil, were found in Kaeng Krajan national park, one of the last refuges for Thailand's tigers, in April last year after Pannada reported her ex-husband was missing.

The court in Petchaburi, 100 miles west of the Thai capital Bangkok, was told that Mr Charnaud had divorced Pannada because of her gambling debts and had been awarded custody of their son Daniel, now seven. He allowed Pannada visiting rights but on 27 March last year he failed to return home after setting out to collect Daniel from Pannada's home on the edge of Kaeng Krajan.

A subsequent investigation revealed that the three other defendants had been waiting for him at her home. They tried to shoot him with an antiquated long barrelled musket but it backfired. They then beat Mr Charnaud to death with iron bars and a lump of wood.

The killers placed his body on an already prepared charcoal barbecue then cut up his cooked remains and spread them around the tiger reserve.

Hell in Paradise

Never satisfied; fixated on helping family back home regardless of the damage wrought on her falang family here; spiteful, malicious, fraudulent and unforgiving.

Do you recognise any of these traits in your Thai wife?

Share the pain.