Mystery Surrounds Death Of Pearl Of Asia: Actress Pawana

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DEATH OF PAWANA

Mystery surrounds death of "Pearl of Asia"

PHOCHANA PHICHITSIRI

THE NATION

NAKHON PATHOM: -- The death of 69-year-old former actress Pawana Chanajit on Monday has shocked her fans and is a more perplexing mystery than the plot of any movie she starred in during her glorious three-decade career.

The body of Pawana was found in a three-metre-deep ornamental pond in front of her home on a 16-rai plot in Nakhon Pathom's Nakhon Chaisi district. Her slippers were at the edge of the pond.

Pawana - real name Aranyaporn Laosaengthong - was a prominent actress from the 1960s to the '80s, starring in dozens of films, including many Hong Kong productions. She was known as "the pearl of Asia".

She then embarked on a success?ful business career, dealing in real estate, opening a second-hand car dealership and selling pomelo from her own orchards.

The complexity of circumstances surrounding her death stems from her vast wealth, believed to be in the billions. Her assets included land in Bangkok, Chon Buri and Nakhon Pathom. She also had more than 20 second-hand automobiles as well as a collection of classic cars, valuable amulets and antiques.

Two sides are at odds over the dead actress' estate - her relatives and her younger live-in boyfriend of 10 years. They are also divided over whether her death was an accident or a murder.

Pawana's siblings and her boyfriend reportedly locked horns over financial matters even before her death. And right after her disappearance and before her body was found, both sides almost got into a violent fight.

Her brothers, Sukhum and Waipoj Laosaengthong and her sister Hattaya Laosaengthong have all voiced suspicions of foul play.

The boyfriend, Natthapong Luangsirikul, 57, has proclaimed his innocence.

Natthapong said he believed her death was an accident. Pawana might have fainted and fallen into a pond, or perhaps one of her many pet dogs jumped on her and caused her to fall.

Natthapong has said there was no way he wanted Pawana dead because they had plans to register their marriage and have a grand wedding at the end of the year.

They ran many businesses together and were about to open restaurants, spas and traditional massage houses.

Sukhum, however, says he has suspicions. After learning that Pawana was missing, he and his wife went to her house to find Natthapong rushing to take three bags filled with documents and land-title deeds.

They tried to stop him from leaving before police arrived.

Natthapong was furious, Sukhum said. He pulled a pistol and fired two shots into the air, telling Sukhum and his wife to leave.

A police source said Natthapong gave conflicting statements. He told police that he did not register a marriage with Pawana so he would not benefit from her death. But when police asked why he made Pawana's relatives leave the house, Natthapong said he feared they would take his and Pawana's joint possessions.

While Natthapong told police that he and Pawana had lived peacefully and never quarrelled, Pawana's 21-year-old adopted son Apicha Laosaengthong and her servants refuted the statement, saying the pair had fought often in the past few months.

Hattaya Laosaengthong, Apicha's biological mother and Pawana's younger sister, said they did not want Natthapong to take the land-title deeds because they learned that lately Pawana had given him authorisation to do business transactions on her behalf.

The duration from which Pawana disappeared to when her body was discovered is also suspicious. Police said Pawana's cook could not find her at 6pm. The cook made phone calls at 7pm to Natthapong and Pawana's relatives, who then arrived at the house to start searching.

Natthapong said he found Pawana's body at 3am the following morning - seven to eight hours later. But couldn't her body have been found much earlier, given the fact that her slippers were near the pool?

Police, who arrived at the scene at 4am, said Pawana had been dead for eight to 10 hours.

Nattawut said he was not home when Pawana disappeared and he had witnesses to back him up.

Waipoj said he believed foreign workers were hired to kill his sister. More than 10 Myanmar migrants were on staff at the house and workers whom his sister had hired earlier had been fired. Waipoj has also offered rewards for evidence of foul play.

Hattaya has urged police to put Natthapong on a lie detector. She said after her sister's death, jewellery worth Bt1.5 million, keys to safe boxes and important documents have disappeared.

Pawana's ex-husband Paijit Supawalee said he was saddened by Pawana's death, adding that he believed it was unusual. "It is suspi?cious. But I do not know if she had conflicts with people close by," he said.

The autopsy showed that Pawana had drowned and although there were slight bruises at the back of her neck and under her left eye, they were not serious enough to determine that she was physically assaulted.

Police drained the pond to look for further clues and found a stick of wood at the bottom that's about the same size as the bruise on Pawana's left eye. They suspect she fell into the pond face down and her face hit the stick.

Her health records show that she suffered diabetes, high-blood pressure, high cholesterol, blood clots and heart disease. Police said it was pos?sible she fainted while bending down to wash her hands and fell into the pond.

Medical examiners are running toxicology tests on the contents of her stomach and samples were taken from under her fingernails. The result of those tests will be known within two weeks.

-- The Nation 2012-09-14

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Sides agree to survey assets

THE NATION

NAKHON PATHOM: -- The live-in boyfriend and relatives of the late former actress Pawana Chanajit agreed yesterday to survey her assets to decide how to divide them.

The agreement was announced by Rerngyos Supngernthong, the lawyer of the boyfriend Natthaphong Luangsirikul and Thavorn Montreewong, the lawyer of Pawana's adopted son, Apicha Laosaengthong.

The two sides agreed to survey all assets of Pawana, including houses, land, valuables and pomelo orchards. They agreed that gold and other valuables would be handed over to Apicha and other assets would have to checked whether they belonged to Pawana or Natthapong.

The lawyers said the assets of Pawana would be given to the adopted son and the boyfriend would be allowed to keep the assets he could prove ownership for.

Before the two sides reached the agreement, Natthapong was seen squabbling with Apicha and his father loudly. At one moment, Pawana's friend shouted at them to wait until after the funeral.

Natthapong told reporters that he has sought police protection because he's noticed strangers watching him since Pawana's death.

Apicha told reporters he would seek to become the executor of Pawana's estate after the funeral.

-- The Nation 2012-09-14

[theblether]

Oh this is great......a suspicious high profile death!!! I love it!!

I wonder how long it will be before the butler gets blamed.

[crusader79]

Billions, eh? How much did she leave? All of it.

[Gonzo the Face]

Medical Examiner sez test results within two weeks on this prominent Thai personality.

How long would it be for results to be known if the deceased where to be a foreign national and had mysteriously died in say, .... Koh Phi Phi or Chiang Mai???

[GaoYuk]

Nice detective work, hit a stick in the pond, which is presumeably going to be at the bottom. If you accidently fall into a 3 meter deep pond you're not going to pick up enough speed to get a bruise...from a stick...right?

[Ferangled]

"Police drained the pond to look for further clues and found a stick of wood at the bottom that's about the same size as the bruise on Pawana's left eye. They suspect she fell into the pond face down and her face hit the stick."

Seriously?! That's the best that they can come up with? Now I'm no police investigator but surely it is more likely she was first hit with the stick and then fell/ pushed into the pond?

"The lawyers said the assets of Pawana would be given to the adopted son and the boyfriend would be allowed to keep the assets he could prove ownership for. Before the two sides reached the agreement, Natthapong was seen squabbling with Apicha and his father loudly. At one moment, Pawana's friend shouted at them to wait until after the funeral."

Right, so an obvious conflict about the estate and overcome with grief the ex, son and boyfriend start arguing about it during her funeral, days after the "shock" of her death. Really hard to narrow the suspects down here... what could possibly be the motive I wonder? Follow the money...

[Fozfromoz]

Nice detective work, hit a stick in the pond, which is presumeably going to be at the bottom. If you accidently fall into a 3 meter deep pond you're not going to pick up enough speed to get a bruise...from a stick...right?

The other thread has a better theory, about as believable

.

[bigbamboo]

The police seem awfully anxious to tie this case up a.s.a.p. Lots of airy fairy theories but little actual detective work. What's the big hurry..... finish the case by 'tea time'?

Where's Jonathan Creek when you need him?

[TwoDogz]

The spoils of death...brings out the best in the nearest and dearest.

I am thinking to stage my death first and watch the shenanigans and whom ever behaves the mostest decentest gets it all.

[xen]

I think i saw this exact same storey a few months ago on Thai TV . Only the names were changed and the boyfriend had a moustache.

[DoctorG]

It was only yesterday that the police had it all wrapped up with a different theory. We await tomorrow's tale.

[harryfrompattaya]

I have heard from a man in a bar that George Bush did it.. He did not know if it was the father or son

[Ferangled]

I have heard from a man in a bar that George Bush did it.. He did not know if it was the father or son

About time one of those murderous, conniving, <deleted> were arrested for something...

Edited September 14, 2012 by Ferangled

[Leelas]

Medical Examiner sez test results within two weeks on this prominent Thai personality.

How long would it be for results to be known if the deceased where to be a foreign national and had mysteriously died in say, .... Koh Phi Phi or Chiang Mai???

Considerably quicker than if the deceased were a Thai who was not a prominent personality.

[Farangdam]

the falang relative will received 0%

.....RIP to the Pearl of asia ..the special one..

[sunkist]

floating stick or stick on the bottom falling and hitting head on it might hurt, but knock you out and drown. Stick is non starter. She had a full life and very fulfilled. Now the rats fight over the corpse.

[gk10002000]

"fell into the pool and her face hit the stick". Sorry. You don't fall very fast through the water after hitting it and certainly not fast enough to bruise onself by hitting a stick. Oh, and don't bruises only develop if one is still alive? I am just an engineer, not a Post Mortem qualified MD

[doltie]

"The autopsy showed that Pawana had drowned and although there were slight bruises at the back of her neck and under her left eye, they were not serious enough to determine that she was physically assaulted."

Slight bruises to back of the neck seems to me like she was held under water while semi conscious from eye injury.

[TwoDogz]

I hope I never fall into the pool and hit a rice sack.

Strangulation or severe bruising.

[rbrooks]

I smell, foul play, cover up, corruption, bribery and good and bad Karma at play here. Amazing Thailand, show big money, live it up, piss the wrong people off and you end up dead from natural causes quickly!

[cdnski12]

A perfect plot for a HDTV Docu-Drama or a good Thai Movie Plot. A true actress to the end. Seems she did have a lot of Health Problems. People with Health problems are constantly "Falling" out of Hotel windows, "stumbling" into swimming pools, "Run Overby an Auto" while crossing a road in LOS. A Classic ... Old Ferang Death. A Swedishi Expat aquaintence died of throat cancer from smoking. His $750K USD Cash Assets "dissappeared". A Forsenic Accountant tracked the money from BKK=>HKG=>Manila=>HKG and then it "dissappeared" ... probably into China or Bermuda. The executor had a hell of a time explaining to the deceased sisters, where their inheritance went. It's never been found. Always remember, you can not take your money into your grave or cremation. Spend it while you can.