Thai Wife Given Life Sentence For Murdering British Ex-husband

[kmart]

Well, 20/20 hindsight all round. I, like many expats before and after, got hitched to a bargirl; and for a while we managed to avoid most of the stereotypes and were quite happy together. It didn't work out, as is the norm; ... Life is but experience...

I have seen a lot of my (supposedly well-educated) friends get taken in by girls from Nakorn Nowhere, and lose the lot. And the plot, too.

What you have to realise is that even if you meet and wed a "nice" girl with a good job; she will be stigmatized by her own people as a former prostitute because she is with you. Especially outside Bangkok.

Back on topic; I wonder how long this horrible bitch will actually serve in prison? She will probably be let out as soon as people have forgotten about it. Less than a year, i bet.

[terry57]

Well, 20/20 hindsight all round. I, like many expats before and after, got hitched to a bargirl; and for a while we managed to avoid most of the stereotypes and were quite happy together. It didn't work out, as is the norm; ... Life is but experience...

I have seen a lot of my (supposedly well-educated) friends get taken in by girls from Nakorn Nowhere, and lose the lot. And the plot, too.

What you have to realise is that even if you meet and wed a "nice" girl with a good job; she will be stigmatized by her own people as a former prostitute because she is with you. Especially outside Bangkok.

Back on topic; I wonder how long this horrible bitch will actually serve in prison? She will probably be let out as soon as people have forgotten about it. Less than a year, i bet.

kmart,

you are a top bloke in my book as you have the guts to tell all the punters of your experience.

thank you very much for being strait up with the people instead of making up some crap excuse.

i'll bet you wont make that mistake again.

cheers to you friend.

[Vespa]

Well, 20/20 hindsight all round. I, like many expats before and after, got hitched to a bargirl; and for a while we managed to avoid most of the stereotypes and were quite happy together. It didn't work out, as is the norm; ... Life is but experience...

I have seen a lot of my (supposedly well-educated) friends get taken in by girls from Nakorn Nowhere, and lose the lot. And the plot, too.

What you have to realise is that even if you meet and wed a "nice" girl with a good job; she will be stigmatized by her own people as a former prostitute because she is with you. Especially outside Bangkok.

Back on topic; I wonder how long this horrible bitch will actually serve in prison? She will probably be let out as soon as people have forgotten about it. Less than a year, i bet.

kmart,

you are a top bloke in my book as you have the guts to tell all the punters of your experience.

thank you very much for being strait up with the people instead of making up some crap excuse.

i'll bet you wont make that mistake again.

cheers to you friend.

Agreed . The simple fact is , would any of us marry some whore we just paid to have sex with back in our home countries ?

[terry57]

Well, 20/20 hindsight all round. I, like many expats before and after, got hitched to a bargirl; and for a while we managed to avoid most of the stereotypes and were quite happy together. It didn't work out, as is the norm; ... Life is but experience...

I have seen a lot of my (supposedly well-educated) friends get taken in by girls from Nakorn Nowhere, and lose the lot. And the plot, too.

What you have to realise is that even if you meet and wed a "nice" girl with a good job; she will be stigmatized by her own people as a former prostitute because she is with you. Especially outside Bangkok.

Back on topic; I wonder how long this horrible bitch will actually serve in prison? She will probably be let out as soon as people have forgotten about it. Less than a year, i bet.

kmart,

you are a top bloke in my book as you have the guts to tell all the punters of your experience.

thank you very much for being strait up with the people instead of making up some crap excuse.

i'll bet you wont make that mistake again.

cheers to you friend.

Agreed . The simple fact is , would any of us marry some whore we just paid to have sex with back in our home countries ?

vespa,

this very question has been discussed a thousand times on this forum and you know what the answer to your question is ??

YES.

AND THE GUMBIES ARE STILL AT IT.

dont worry about it mate as the stories that come out of them are priceless.

bleeding top entertainment for the guys that dont play this game.

keep up the top work boys, as this forum would be figging boring without your bar girl stories.

cheers old mates

[Loaded]

What you have to realise is that even if you meet and wed a "nice" girl with a good job; she will be stigmatized by her own people as a former prostitute because she is with you. Especially outside Bangkok.

Thais can see the difference betwen a bar girl and a 'nice' girl. If they treat the 'nice' girl as though she's a bargirl, they can see something the farang can't. i've met quite a few 'nice' girls who actually turn out to be hoes with cash.

[bannork]

What you have to realise is that even if you meet and wed a "nice" girl with a good job; she will be stigmatized by her own people as a former prostitute because she is with you. Especially outside Bangkok.

Thais can see the difference betwen a bar girl and a 'nice' girl. If they treat the 'nice' girl as though she's a bargirl, they can see something the farang can't. i've met quite a few 'nice' girls who actually turn out to be hoes with cash.

How many rai(s) come with the hoes?

[kmart]

What you have to realise is that even if you meet and wed a "nice" girl with a good job; she will be stigmatized by her own people as a former prostitute because she is with you. Especially outside Bangkok.

Thais can see the difference betwen a bar girl and a 'nice' girl. If they treat the 'nice' girl as though she's a bargirl, they can see something the farang can't. i've met quite a few 'nice' girls who actually turn out to be hoes with cash.

True. I've met some girls in Bangkok that although supposedly educated and monied, actually have the manners and morals of insects.

But guaranteed that your TGF will still be looked down upon by a lot of snobby, socially-conscious Thais whatever her breeding and background, I'm afraid.

[Jai Dee]

Public Warning

From the Forum Rules:

3) Religious or racial slurs, rude and degrading comments towards women , or extremely negative views of Thailand will not be tolerated.

[terry57]

What you have to realise is that even if you meet and wed a "nice" girl with a good job; she will be stigmatized by her own people as a former prostitute because she is with you. Especially outside Bangkok.

Thais can see the difference betwen a bar girl and a 'nice' girl. If they treat the 'nice' girl as though she's a bargirl, they can see something the farang can't. i've met quite a few 'nice' girls who actually turn out to be hoes with cash.

loaded my friend,

you are shooting with a very strait barrel,

as the thai's can indeed pick out the difference between the bar girl and a good girl.

to insinuate that they all automatically think a thai girl is a hoe because she is with a farang, is a very harsh accessment, and a tad insulting to the thai people's intelligence.

my self,

does not make a blanket judgement when meeting thai farang couple.

i have meet plenty that have met outside the bar scene and truly are happy.

as far as nice girls, hoes and cash goes,

ive meet some top girls in freo that turned out to be hoe's and have got quite a bit of my cash.

my last one cost me 100k so i did'nt think that was to bad.

only difference being i did not meet one of them in a bar.

but i must add after i finished with them i spent a lot of times drowning my sorrows in a bar.

but look mate,

us guys never seem to learn, as my old man done his nuts at 72 years old.

he moves in with this old ugly hoe at 72 and dies at 76 years old.

said old slapper ended up with the family fortune of 400k.

true story fella,

most horrifying and the best lawyer in perth could not do a thing about it.

jes--us christ,

lucky i got my own money or i would of toped my good self by now.

so in conclusion my friend,

it dont matter what country we are in, us males must have our hoe alert on at all times and never drop our gaurd.

to do so is to end up having a slow death at the hands of a hoe.

cheers to you my friend

[terry57]

What you have to realise is that even if you meet and wed a "nice" girl with a good job; she will be stigmatized by her own people as a former prostitute because she is with you. Especially outside Bangkok.

Thais can see the difference betwen a bar girl and a 'nice' girl. If they treat the 'nice' girl as though she's a bargirl, they can see something the farang can't. i've met quite a few 'nice' girls who actually turn out to be hoes with cash.

True. I've met some girls in Bangkok that although supposedly educated and monied, actually have the manners and morals of insects.

But guaranteed that your TGF will still be looked down upon by a lot of snobby, socially-conscious Thais whatever her breeding and background, I'm afraid.

ok kmart,

lighten up a bit will you,

im just about ready to commit suicide reading your last post.

i know your a top fella kmart,

so off you go, as its time for you to have a nice sleep.

see you tomorrow mate

cheers

[Scott]

Agreed . The simple fact is , would any of us marry some whore we just paid to have sex with back in our home countries ?

Hey, you mean I shouldn't have married her??

[Scott]

Actually, this lady and her friends may be in jail for a while. they aren't anybody important, so why or who would want them out. There best bet is that at some point down the line there is an amnesty for killers of farang men (like when the Thai-lesbian nationalist party wins office).

[kmart]

What you have to realise is that even if you meet and wed a "nice" girl with a good job; she will be stigmatized by her own people as a former prostitute because she is with you. Especially outside Bangkok.

Thais can see the difference betwen a bar girl and a 'nice' girl. If they treat the 'nice' girl as though she's a bargirl, they can see something the farang can't. i've met quite a few 'nice' girls who actually turn out to be hoes with cash.

True. I've met some girls in Bangkok that although supposedly educated and monied, actually have the manners and morals of insects.

But guaranteed that your TGF will still be looked down upon by a lot of snobby, socially-conscious Thais whatever her breeding and background, I'm afraid.

ok kmart,

lighten up a bit will you,

im just about ready to commit suicide reading your last post.

i know your a top fella kmart,

so off you go, as its time for you to have a nice sleep.

see you tomorrow mate

cheers

You could be right, Terry. Time to clear the desk, and knob off to the pub. Forgot why i'm here in the first place. Cheers.

[sriracha john]

UPDATE

Toby Charnaud

Foreign office criticised over Charnaud murder

CRITICISMS of the lack of support offered to the family of murdered Toby Charnaud have been raised on the second anniversary of his tragic death.

The 40-year-old former Marlborough College student was killed by his former Thai wife Pannanda Charnaud, along with three accomplices.

This afternoon, North Wiltshire MP James Gray raised serious concerns in Parliament over the way the family was helped through the terrible ordeal.

He said the Foreign Office Consular Service and British Embassy in Bangkok had fallen far short in the level of support they should have offered to the family.

The issues were raised on behalf of Mr Charnaud's parents Jeremy and Sarah, of West Kington, and sister Hannah Allan, of Stanton St Quintin.

Mr Gray said the family was not put in touch with police family liaison officers until two weeks after Mr Charnauds disappearance He added, due to a lack of communication from the embassy, they also had to employ a private investigator, thanks to who the body was found.

Mr Gray said the embassy was not helpful about getting Mr Charnauds son Daniel, who was then five, into the familys custody and away from Pannanda.

Once the charred remains of Mr Charnaud's body were discovered, Mr Gray said the consulate failed to inform the family immediately, and they only found out through the private investigator.

He added little help was given to help the family out to Thailand and details about the progression of the eventual trial were scant at best.

Mr Gray said: What happened to the Charnaud family at the hands of the British Consular service must never be allowed to happen to any other family in the future.

Mr Gray added he was satisfied with the outcome of the debate.

I was encouraged by the Rt Hon Ian McCartneys response to the issues I raised on behalf of the Charnaud family, he said.

As I said to the Minister, my constituents would like to see evidence of appropriate measures being taken to make such tragic and difficult events easier for families in the future.

And so I was pleased to hear him acknowledge that grave mistakes were made and that there were lessons to be learned, but also to hear him provide assurances about what measures the Foreign and Commonwealth Office were employing to ensure that such negligence and incompetence does not occur again in such circumstances.

Mr McCartney undertook to write personally to the Home Secretary about the issue of Police Liaison Officers and their role in situations such as this.

The lack of police support was gravely felt by the Charnaud family and I know that they will be reassured to hear that the Foreign Office has taken this concern very seriously.

I was also pleased to hear the Minister's assurance that the Foreign Office would continue to monitor very carefully the appeals of the four convicted murderers and ensure that no breakdown in due process occurs.

He was also kind enough after the debate to provide me with a new information sheet that the Foreign Office has produced since the tragic events unfolded two years ago in Thailand. I know that Mr and Mrs Charnaud and Mrs Allan found the lack of information provided by the consular service in Thailand very difficult in the circumstances. I hope they will be reassured by this too.

- Gazette & Herald (UK)

[Prakanong]

What with the criticism of the Consular section regarding the Tsunami and this it might be time for the Bangkok consuklar section to be given a swift kick up the arse.

I know its probably seen as a dead end job by them and Bangkok the deader of dead ends but even so.....

My best freind is a Deputy Ambassador and i can remember the look on his face when I sugeested the consular Section in Bangkok for a position earlier in his career ;-)

[Sing_Sling]

What nonsense . . . Bangkok is not considered a dead-end posting at all, what is your friend drinking? If you want dead-end postings you need to look at the new 'stans and central Africa.

Bangkok has not and is not considered dead-end, it is in the same level as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Mexico City etc . . . and just below Western Europe, the US, Canada and ANZ.

Ask him if the pay grade allowance is equal to Burkina Faso.

Ridiculous.

(Yes, mate - three generations of diplomats here)

To the criticism of the Embassy . . . staff is rotated every few years, so it really isn't the singular mentality of UK dips and non-dips, the local staff, however, stay and stay and stay and stay and have an amazing attitude towards their own people.

In this case the consular officer's section, headed by Brits, failed in their duty as they are completely out of their depths handling a situation like this as they are no more than the average government employee back home.

[Prakanong]

All I can say is what he and others indicated - obviously not in the same level as PNG etc but not a glamour posting - I will not say his last three posting less it identify him but they are considered good postings.

It was others as well talking about the Bangkok Consular section on nights out when he was home after they found out I lived/or had lived there.

Maybe its snobbery in the FCO about consular work in general?? - dunno - not my field at all but the guy i know is one of the least snobby people i have ever met and with regard to some FCO people I have met in lower grades than even more so.

One girl i was on a post-grad with basically entered as a clerk and was so put out when she was introduced to my pal who joined the same time on the fast stream ;-) - we all thought she joined just to look for a husband and she did marry a high flyer i heard.

anyway this is getting off topic.

[taxexile]

you want dead-end postings you need to look at the new 'stans and central Africa......

.........and other countries run by military led juntas where corrupt practices have yet to be broken down by the due processes of justice , democracy and accountability.

thanks for the update on the toby c. case , srj.

[Payboy]

I know its probably seen as a dead end job by them and Bangkok the deader of dead ends but even so.....

au contraire - a posting in bangkok is much sought after by those foreign office blokes. i know a few of them here at the embassy who are trying their level best to to get extensions of their terms.

[samran]

What with the criticism of the Consular section regarding the Tsunami and this it might be time for the Bangkok consuklar section to be given a swift kick up the arse.

I know its probably seen as a dead end job by them and Bangkok the deader of dead ends but even so.....

My best freind is a Deputy Ambassador and i can remember the look on his face when I sugeested the consular Section in Bangkok for a position earlier in his career ;-)

Consular section is seen by some as a dead end, no matter where it is. Especially the ones who are keen on working in the trade, defence or intelligence attaches's, working as a consular head is a step backwards. From a diplomats friends own mouth, dealing with dead end nationals who should have never been allowed to leave the country in the first place (and getting into all sorts of trouble), handing out visas, and general paper shuffling. People have turned down a consular posting in say, NY or London, in favour of a non-consular position elsewhere.

I know the times I have had to go down to the Aussie embassy for passports etc, you'd inevitiably see one down and out loser/idiot/insert your own degrcatory comment, who is waiting for 'help' from the embassy. Dealing with these types day in day out.....well you'd really have to love the job.

For others though, they love it, the people aspect side of things. And a good consular officer is worth their weight in gold, when you do actually need one.

[aussiestyle1983]

Good to see some fairness!

[Prakanong]

I know its probably seen as a dead end job by them and Bangkok the deader of dead ends but even so.....

au contraire - a posting in bangkok is much sought after by those foreign office blokes. i know a few of them here at the embassy who are trying their level best to to get extensions of their terms.

I know somebody very well who was posted to Bangkok and wanted it extending but he will be the first to admit he is not looking to go very high.

Some civil servants and other workers are happy in mediocre positions ;-)))

[Prakanong]

What with the criticism of the Consular section regarding the Tsunami and this it might be time for the Bangkok consuklar section to be given a swift kick up the arse.

I know its probably seen as a dead end job by them and Bangkok the deader of dead ends but even so.....

My best freind is a Deputy Ambassador and i can remember the look on his face when I sugeested the consular Section in Bangkok for a position earlier in his career ;-)

Consular section is seen by some as a dead end, no matter where it is. Especially the ones who are keen on working in the trade, defence or intelligence attaches's, working as a consular head is a step backwards. From a diplomats friends own mouth, dealing with dead end nationals who should have never been allowed to leave the country in the first place (and getting into all sorts of trouble), handing out visas, and general paper shuffling. People have turned down a consular posting in say, NY or London, in favour of a non-consular position elsewhere.

I know the times I have had to go down to the Aussie embassy for passports etc, you'd inevitiably see one down and out loser/idiot/insert your own degrcatory comment, who is waiting for 'help' from the embassy. Dealing with these types day in day out.....well you'd really have to love the job.

For others though, they love it, the people aspect side of things. And a good consular officer is worth their weight in gold, when you do actually need one.

What you have written reflects my own limited knowledge of this.

I remember my pals leaving dinner in one posting where some of his pals talked about this and the general impression I and his parents got reflected exactly what you and I have said.

"For others though, they love it, the people aspect side of things. And a good consular officer is worth their weight in gold, when you do actually need one."

The Guy in Brussels who is rather like Big Dave from Jools has a excellent reputation and has helped myself when passport stolen and many other people I knew with problems - kudos where it is due

[baboon]

I know its probably seen as a dead end job by them and Bangkok the deader of dead ends but even so.....

au contraire - a posting in bangkok is much sought after by those foreign office blokes. i know a few of them here at the embassy who are trying their level best to to get extensions of their terms.

I have no idea what you are talking about.

[richard10365]

Thais jailed for life in Briton ex-husband murder

PHETCHABURI, Thailand, Sept 6 - A Thai court sentenced a Thai woman and three men to life in jail for killing her British ex-husband, burning his body and burying the remains in the jungle.

The sentence was commuted from death because they had pleaded guilty, judge Sarayuth Busayanawin said.

"The defendants' testimonies were useful to the trial, therefore their sentence has been commuted to life in prison," Sarayuth said.

The court found the ex-wife, Panadda Charnaud, 35, guilty of hiring the three men to kill Toby Charnaud, a former farmer from Chippenham in Wiltshire, at her farm in the Kaeng Krajan National Park, 180 km (110 miles) south of Bangkok in March last year.

The defence lawyer told Reuters all four would appeal.

She wanted sole custody of their son, Daniel, who now lives with his father's family in England, the court said. The Charnaud family lawyer said the motive was to "inherit everything through their son".

Panadda, who reported her ex-husband missing to police in April last year, told the court she took Daniel to a Buddhist temple carnival on the day Boontien Puipong, Chatree Prathum and Pinit Sattabutr beat her ex-husband to death.

They tried to get rid of the body by burning it on 20 kg (44 lb) of charcoal, then buried the remains in the jungle, the judge said.

Charnaud's family became suspicious after Panadda reported their son missing and hired a locally based Scottish private eye to find out what happened to him, British newspapers reported.

The agent checked mobile-phone records and discovered that Charnaud had been at Panadda's house on the day he disappeared.

When police raided the house, two of the killers confessed and led them to where the remains were buried.

Charnaud met and married Panadda, a former Bangkok bargirl, in Thailand in 1997, then sold his farm and bought two bars in the seaside town of Hua Hin, according to British newspapers.

He divorced Pannada because of her gambling debts and gave her a 777,000 baht (11,000 pound) settlement, they said.

- Reuters

Is the moral of the story , do not marry bar girls ?

stupid thing to say

[richard10365]

Some people act like women are not devious in farang land. They seem to imply that women in farang land are not capable of such a dredful act. They stereotype a womans profession as meaning they are lowlifes and incapable of a meaningful and lasting relationship.

These people are probably biggots. They probably hate all other races than their own. They probably think black people are not very smart either. Maybe jewish people are stingy. They probably think all Muslems are evil and wish to die with bombs strapped to their chest.

I don't have much use for people like that. I have my own opinion about them. They are about as useful as fly shit on dog shit.

But like they have their opinion, this is mine. It doesn't really mean anything.

[Jimmy in Bangkok]

Thais jailed for life in Briton ex-husband murder

PHETCHABURI, Thailand, Sept 6 - A Thai court sentenced a Thai woman and three men to life in jail for killing her British ex-husband, burning his body and burying the remains in the jungle.

The sentence was commuted from death because they had pleaded guilty, judge Sarayuth Busayanawin said.

"The defendants' testimonies were useful to the trial, therefore their sentence has been commuted to life in prison," Sarayuth said.

The court found the ex-wife, Panadda Charnaud, 35, guilty of hiring the three men to kill Toby Charnaud, a former farmer from Chippenham in Wiltshire, at her farm in the Kaeng Krajan National Park, 180 km (110 miles) south of Bangkok in March last year.

The defence lawyer told Reuters all four would appeal.

She wanted sole custody of their son, Daniel, who now lives with his father's family in England, the court said. The Charnaud family lawyer said the motive was to "inherit everything through their son".

Panadda, who reported her ex-husband missing to police in April last year, told the court she took Daniel to a Buddhist temple carnival on the day Boontien Puipong, Chatree Prathum and Pinit Sattabutr beat her ex-husband to death.

They tried to get rid of the body by burning it on 20 kg (44 lb) of charcoal, then buried the remains in the jungle, the judge said.

Charnaud's family became suspicious after Panadda reported their son missing and hired a locally based Scottish private eye to find out what happened to him, British newspapers reported.

The agent checked mobile-phone records and discovered that Charnaud had been at Panadda's house on the day he disappeared.

When police raided the house, two of the killers confessed and led them to where the remains were buried.

Charnaud met and married Panadda, a former Bangkok bargirl, in Thailand in 1997, then sold his farm and bought two bars in the seaside town of Hua Hin, according to British newspapers.

He divorced Pannada because of her gambling debts and gave her a 777,000 baht (11,000 pound) settlement, they said.

- Reuters

Is the moral of the story , do not marry bar girls ?

stupid thing to say

It is considering in the other story she was originally a security guard! Of course though that doesn't sell newspapers does it.I keep forgetting that every person that has done something horrendous in this world is a BG. It's saddening to see that some people equate Thailand = BG. What a sad bunch you must be. Try stepping out of the bar for an afternoon and you may just meet some Thai people that aren't BG's, work in the hospitality industry, or even female to further confuse you.

Anyway what a disgusting excuse for a human being! I hope she sees out the remainder of her pitiful life stuck behind bars and gets no early release. What a waste of human life!

Cheers

Jimmy

[aussiestyle1983]

Thais jailed for life in Briton ex-husband murder

PHETCHABURI, Thailand, Sept 6 - A Thai court sentenced a Thai woman and three men to life in jail for killing her British ex-husband, burning his body and burying the remains in the jungle.

The sentence was commuted from death because they had pleaded guilty, judge Sarayuth Busayanawin said.

"The defendants' testimonies were useful to the trial, therefore their sentence has been commuted to life in prison," Sarayuth said.

The court found the ex-wife, Panadda Charnaud, 35, guilty of hiring the three men to kill Toby Charnaud, a former farmer from Chippenham in Wiltshire, at her farm in the Kaeng Krajan National Park, 180 km (110 miles) south of Bangkok in March last year.

The defence lawyer told Reuters all four would appeal.

She wanted sole custody of their son, Daniel, who now lives with his father's family in England, the court said. The Charnaud family lawyer said the motive was to "inherit everything through their son".

Panadda, who reported her ex-husband missing to police in April last year, told the court she took Daniel to a Buddhist temple carnival on the day Boontien Puipong, Chatree Prathum and Pinit Sattabutr beat her ex-husband to death.

They tried to get rid of the body by burning it on 20 kg (44 lb) of charcoal, then buried the remains in the jungle, the judge said.

Charnaud's family became suspicious after Panadda reported their son missing and hired a locally based Scottish private eye to find out what happened to him, British newspapers reported.

The agent checked mobile-phone records and discovered that Charnaud had been at Panadda's house on the day he disappeared.

When police raided the house, two of the killers confessed and led them to where the remains were buried.

Charnaud met and married Panadda, a former Bangkok bargirl, in Thailand in 1997, then sold his farm and bought two bars in the seaside town of Hua Hin, according to British newspapers.

He divorced Pannada because of her gambling debts and gave her a 777,000 baht (11,000 pound) settlement, they said.

- Reuters

Is the moral of the story , do not marry bar girls ?

stupid thing to say

It is considering in the other story she was originally a security guard! Of course though that doesn't sell newspapers does it.I keep forgetting that every person that has done something horrendous in this world is a BG. It's saddening to see that some people equate Thailand = BG. What a sad bunch you must be. Try stepping out of the bar for an afternoon and you may just meet some Thai people that aren't BG's, work in the hospitality industry, or even female to further confuse you.

Anyway what a disgusting excuse for a human being! I hope she sees out the remainder of her pitiful life stuck behind bars and gets no early release. What a waste of human life!

Cheers

Jimmy

As for the girl in this case, if she was a BG, she will be dissapointed when on the inside because she won't be getting paid for putting out

There will be NO money to send home for the services she will be providing

[sriracha john]

UPDATE.... with implications beyond this particular case

Somsak Papai (centre) and Wisunt Samaksri (right) were arrested in connection with Toby Charnaud's murder

With so many Britons murdered in Thailand, why does our Government not warn of the dangers faced there?

At least 17 Britons have been murdered in Thailand since 2003 – including Toby Charnaud, brutally slain by his Thai wife. Now, his family want to know why our Government is so reluctant to warn that the 'Land of Smiles' is one of the most dangerous places on earth for its British residents

His fingers trembled as he lit another cigarette, the previous one still smouldering in the ashtray. His hands felt clammy and he was sweating despite the chill blast from the air-conditioning. There was a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach. This was the most terrible thing he had done in his life, and the waiting was the hardest part."

This is the opening paragraph of a short story called "Rainfall", written in 2003 by Toby Charnaud, an English expat living in the upmarket beach resort of Hua Hin, Thailand. Charnaud recounts, with a sense of impending dread, the tale of a British man named Guy who plans to murder his Thai wife. Yet, this sobering parable is turned on its head, as the Thai wife has her husband killed instead.

Two years later, on 27 March 2005, Charnaud himself was murdered in horrific circumstances. The 41-year-old was lured into the house near Hua Hin that he had bought for his Thai ex-wife, Panadda Laoruang, to live in. There, after a home-made gun failed to kill him, three men hired by Laoruang beat him to death with a heavy object. His body was partially cremated in a fire pit, cut into small pieces and scattered around a nearby forest. Charnaud's parents, Jeremy and Sarah, were then forced to endure the insensitivity of a graceless British Embassy, the hiring of private detectives and countless DNA tests to fully ascertain, months later, that the meagre charred remains belonged to their son.

In the gruelling task of discovering the awful fate of their son, the Charnauds discovered a Thailand not seen in its tourist authorities' glossy brochures. Yet what also emerges from the death of Charnaud and many others is the fact that Thailand, despite its popularity with the British, is among the most dangerous places in the world for UK visitors – a fact that the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has been reluctant to publicise.

Born and raised a farmer's son, Charnaud only ever seemed to have one destiny growing up. "We always thought he was going to be a farmer," says his father. We're sitting in the kitchen of a cosy country farmhouse in the tiny Wiltshire village of West Kington, where Charnaud and Som (Laoruang's Thai nickname) spent two happy years together.

Charnaud had an uneventful rural childhood, which he shared with two sisters, Martha and Hannah, and his Down's Syndrome brother, Matthew, and which included a stint at one of Britain's top private schools, Marlborough College. He then decided to attend The Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester. "He met a great bunch of people there," says his mother. "It was one of the happiest periods of his life."

After graduation, Charnaud began a successful career as a land agent, moving around the UK and building a reputation. It was during this period that he was bitten by the travel bug. "Toby travelled to Australia, New Zealand and then took an overland trip to South Africa," says his father. The part of the world that really caught his attention was South-east Asia and, in particular, Thailand. "While he was working as a land agent he began to travel much more regularly," says his mother. "We knew at that point that he was beginning a particular fascination with Thailand."

It was on one of these trips that Charnaud met Laoruang. "Apparently she was working as a security guard in a department store," says his sister, Hannah. "They had some kind of brief contact but then Toby didn't see her for a number of years." While on a return trip Charnaud unexpectedly bumped into Laoruang and their romance blossomed. "Toby had moved back in with us to work on the farm," says his father. "We noticed he was corresponding with someone out there and that some intense feelings were developing."

In October 1997, Charnaud and Laoruang were married in a Buddhist ceremony in her home village in Isaan, Thailand's poor north-eastern region. Martha was the only UK family member there. "All of Som's relatives were incredibly welcoming," she says. "The village itself was idyllic – it seemed completely removed from Western consumer culture and I guess Toby believed that Som might not be so easily seduced by the trappings of that." One incident stood out for Martha when she visited Laoruang's family: "Som shimmied up a tree and chopped down a coconut for us. Toby was very impressed by this – he just seemed completely smitten."

Shortly after the wedding, Laoruang and Charnaud moved back to Britain and into the cottage in West Kington. "I got on very well with Som," says Martha. "She was warm, friendly and funny. We used to have little girly chats about things – of course I never suspected anything. I mean, why would I be looking?" Charnaud's wife seemed to take to English village life, finding a job at a local horticultural nursery and becoming part of the family. "Som was a loving wife, made friends with local people and was well suited to life in West Kington," says his father. "I thought she was great company."

In 1999, with UK farming on a downturn, Charnaud and his wife made the decision to return to Thailand. "She never pressured him to go back," says his father. "He was genuinely very keen on the idea." In early 2000, the pair, by now settled in Hua Hin, had a son, Daniel. With the arrival of a beautiful baby boy, a wife he loved and a burgeoning business in one of Thailand's premier resort towns, life looked almost too good to be true.

It was at this point that things started to go wrong. "When Toby moved [to Britain] with Som we'd welcomed her into our family," says his father. "She always seemed like such a sweet, almost naive, Thai girl," adds Hannah. "But Som managed to pull the wool over everyone's eyes."

In fact, the marriage was not just the coming together of two people, but of two very different cultures. For Westerners living in Thailand, it is often hard to decipher the country's subtle and highly complex social and cultural codes. As is common in other Asian cultures, Thais tend to separate the persona they present to the world from their interior character. Maintaining jai yen (a "cool heart") in all situations is viewed as the correct way to conduct oneself. To reveal jai rawn (a "hot heart") – by showing anger, being direct or engaging in verbal confrontation – is to risk causing yourself and others to "lose face", and is regarded as a serious breach of social protocol.

The result, for Laoruang, was that when she got into difficulties, she tried her best to prevent her husband from finding out about them. "I received a letter from Som in 2001 that said she had got into trouble and needed £5,000 to pay a bribe," says Martha. "She also begged me not to mention the matter to Toby." By all accounts, Laoruang now began to run up some serious gambling debts. She appeared to begin an affair with a local policeman and became involved in shady gold deals. With a wealthy foreign husband, it is also possible that Laoruang could have become a target for local hustlers.

By 2004, her debts were sucking the business dry and her extramarital affairs were destroying her relationship with Charnaud, who soon divorced her. He gained custody of Daniel, set up a generous divorce settlement that included a one-off sum, monthly allowance and payment of Laoruang's rent, and then cut her off from access to the business. "From what happened to Toby you might think he was quite naive," says Martha. "But he was quite an astute person. He'd really sussed out the Thai way of doing things."

Yet, the following year, Charnaud was dead. His fate at the hands of his ex-wife provides a tragic glimpse of an altogether darker aspect of the so-called "Land of Smiles". Thailand has one of the world's highest per-capita murder rates – when the UN last counted it in 2000, it stood at 5,140 per year, though the annual total is now speculated to be more than 6,000. In the years 2003 to 2006, 17 of these victims were UK nationals, according to the FCO. These murders include a sexually motivated killing of a young British woman; a Thai police officer executing two backpackers in a crowded street; shootings, throat cuttings and two cases of other Westerners murdering UK nationals; and, more pertinently, several cases of Thai wives or their family members slaying British husbands.

On average, about 50 civilian UK nationals are murdered around the world each year (excluding terrorist attacks). This means that almost 10 per cent of all murders of Britons abroad are committed in Thailand – a chilling figure, given that Thailand comprises only 0.6 per cent of all foreign travel from UK shores.

The murder rate is perhaps surprising; of the 420,000 annual British travellers to Thailand, a tiny percentage are the victims of crime. The Thais are friendly and engaging hosts and, with their famous beaches, handsome resorts and low prices bringing in millions of tourists, it is easy to understand why we have fallen in love with the country, and currently comprise its highest proportion of Western visitors.

Yet its dark side is quite visible. Hua Hin, where Charnaud lived and worked, is one of Thailand's most relaxed resorts, located 150 miles south of Bangkok. Long a getaway for Thai royalty, who have attracted a whole section of the Thai elite in their wake, it has a smattering of seedy bars, but the town is a picture of innocence compared with Pattaya, 150 miles north across the Gulf of Thailand. It is here that the country's less-welcome foreign visitors encounter the darker, more dangerous reaches of Thai culture; it is here that Thailand's huge sex industry has its epicentre.

While there is no suggestion that Charnaud was in any way involved in this world – "Toby could never be called a sex tourist," says Hannah, "I can't imagine he went to one strip club the whole time he was in Thailand, it just wasn't his style" – Pattaya is worth including in his story for a fuller picture of the society in which he lived and died; it is believed by some that more British citizens meet a violent end here than anywhere else in Thailand.

On any given day, tens of thousands of prostitutes can be seen working the brothels, bars, streets, hotel lobbies, beach fronts and even shopping malls of this gaudy city. Pattaya is also the focus for high levels of criminal activity involving international gangs from Russia, Germany, the UK and China. The number of deaths of British nationals' in Pattaya is hard to ascertain – though some sources claim that it is up to four every week, neither the FCO nor the Thai authorities have any data they are prepared to release. However, what can be speculated with some confidence is that of the 226 average annual deaths of British citizens in Thailand recorded by the FCO, a large percentage are in Pattaya. (The FCO refuse to list causes of deaths, so we must also speculate as to the reasons for this morbid hotspot. Anecdotal evidence suggests straightforward causes of death for some, such as road accidents and health problems; then there are the suspicious-sounding "suicides" – jumping from balconies seems to be a favoured method.)

At present FCO information regarding deaths in Thailand is limited. Andy Pearce, the deputy head of mission at the British Embassy in Bangkok, admits that the murder rate of Britons resident in Thailand is about the same as the domestic Thai rate – roughly five times higher than in the UK – but adds that this is only an estimate. (There are thought to be about 50,000 British resident in the country at present.) "To create the kind of advice needed on murder rates would require a greater statistical base and more research," he says.

In early 2006, just after the brutal rape and murder of the young British backpacker Katherine Horton on a deserted Koh Samui beach, and following an 18-month period in which nine Britons were murdered, the FCO had a revealing internal debate about what safety advice they should give to British nationals travelling to Thailand, as an email obtained by the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act testifies: "The trouble with [giving advice about the murder rate]... is that it would effectively highlight the number of murders over the past year or more here, which in the current circumstances could have a disproportionate impact on Thailand's reputation and legitimate commercial interests."

No amount of number-crunching by the officials at the British Embassy could have saved Charnaud. While his end was brutal, the reasons for it were never genuinely clear. "The only thing we know is that she killed him for financial reasons," says Hannah. "Som [who was sentenced to life in prison for the murder, along with three accomplices in a Thai courtroom in September 2006] thought she could get Toby's money through their son, Daniel. But she was never going to get a penny." "It has been an horrific time for us all," adds Martha, "but the family hasn't fallen apart." (Daniel is now living happily in the UK with family members.)

Yet Charnaud's family believe British officials in Thailand could have done a lot more to assist them, something that led to their local MP, James Gray, asking questions in Parliament in 2006. "In direct contrast to the Thais, who handled the whole thing very well, at every step our embassy was insensitive, ineffective and incompetent," says Hannah. "When Toby's remains were found they sent us a short email, complete with graphic details. This was done after they had spoken to the press. They offered help with DNA testing and then made that extremely difficult."

At one point, when Charnaud's remains had been released by the Thai police, and with all his family back in the UK, the embassy contacted his family and offered to have the body cremated. "I said, 'What? Do the cremation with no one there?' and they said 'Yes,'" says Hannah. "I was staggered. It seemed like they were just eager to shut the case down."

In 2006, a ceremony of remembrance was held for Charnaud in Hua Hin, his ashes scattered in the shimmering waters of the Gulf of Thailand. "It was one of the hardest days of my life," says Hannah. For future sisters, brothers, mothers and fathers of Britons murdered in Thailand, it seems that more hard days are going to follow.

"Guy forced himself to look up. His eyes widened with shock as he saw the gun pointing at him. He didn't understand, couldn't take in what he saw. His last thought, bizarrely, was that the silencer was as big as the gun. The girl slipped into the room. She was tiny with large brown eyes. She looked at Guy's body on the floor, then at the Thai man slipping the gun back into the waistband of his jeans. The expression on her face was of regret, sorrow and bewilderment. It passed quickly..." "Rainfall" by Toby Charnaud, 1964-2005.

- The Independent (UK)

[Jimjim]

Hardly an update as the journalist uses Charnaud's family as his only source for that particular part of the story, and they were obviously in the dark about the "profession" of Charnaud's wife.