'Defrauded by my wife and criminals in Thailand' - BBC special report

[piersbeckett]

I don't get it why so many here are blaming Ian and his choice of wife. The whole story here is not really about the wife, who apparently ended up in jail with no money. The story is about the legal system here and groups of people that manage to control it in their own way. The wife would not have been able to pull this off entirely on her own. If she had this plan already when they married or not is irrelevant.

That's right and this company set-up might be superficially legal but the legal system doesn't support it when it goes wrong because while the Thai partner(s) is/are happy that's fine but all depends on that because otherwise the falang might be able to profit independently at the expense of the system which they (the Thais) just won't allow to happen so conspire to make sure that it doesn't.

[jamie2009]

It does hapen in other countries, Paul MacCartney, look what happened to him. Any country where farangs go and marry girls half their age it's bound to happen.

The biggest scam currently in the UK is where the funds are transferred to a solicitor to buy a house are intercepted by criminals and transferred to another account, it's not the banks fault so people are losing thousands.

[steven23]

Put a hand on your heart and think in yourself....is it normal that young women ( girl ) fall in love with retired man???

[off road pat]

What ells is new ?????....there is always that thing that's called common sense....1

[nithisa78]

Too bad. We all think what we want to when it points towards what we want.

Good luck chum. We can pass the hat. I'll kick in $100. U.S.

[nithisa78]

What ells is new ?????....there is always that thing that's called common sense....1

Where have you ever noticed that it is common.

[huungryshark]

Put a hand on your heart and think in yourself....is it normal that young women ( girl ) fall in love with retired man???

It´s ALL about money. They marry even a 80yo if he has enough cash.

Money #1 in thailand #2 is their family.

Farang comes last

[Sam Jones]

All I can say is be careful. There are a lot of older "gentlemen" on this very forum who like to preach to mostly younger crowd how Thailand is not cheap and how you need a lot of money to live here. The truth is Thailand is extremely cheap and anyone telling you otherwise is probably being ripped off by their wife and family.

Awarded BS of the week ...

[AlphMichaels]

P.T. Barnum

[jomcondo]

don't ever get involved past ejaculation

[Seastallion]

I don't know why anybody would marry someone who he doesn't trust enough to put all the property in her name.

[micmichd]

You don't have to move to a foreign country to be a 2nd class citizen. All it needs to be poor - or look poor.

[MaeJoMTB]

criminal energy is not only in Thailand, happened around the world

No but the Thai courts and law enforcement in allow it flourish.

In the UK, the divorce judge would have given her the house, the children, half his pension, and 25% of his income until the kids were 19.

At least here, he got to keep the kids.

[lonewolf99]

Love it love it love it...The Thai Visa comics and their quips when one these stories break out.... It really makes my day with all the laugh out loud comments.

It is normal human behaviour to laugh at other people's misfortune especially when they bring it on themselves.....Ho Ho Ho.

I have had over ten years of Thailand and did the right thing right from the get go....I went to the Bookazine shop and devoured every book I could on the subject of Thai women and foreign spouses. It only took a few days relaxing on Jomtien beach reading them and realising the warnings were all there.

Do your homework and classroom work is a doddle.....

The only things I bought was a Motorbike and I just gave her the deposit and she paid the rest monthly from her own wages and a Washing machine.

Humping laundry and paying good money out for someone other than your partner to do it is mental. A maths no brainer.

The rest is rented, cars when I need to go somewhere far off and the condo. Never a house. too easy for the "Joans" to come and nick stuff.

Always be on guard and interrogate anything relating to money. Money number one.....the title of one of the books tells you everything.

Simple really .......

[philcobkk]

What did that fool expect. And then he goes and makes another child with another one. Irresponsible idiot. Maybe they're in love with his beer belly. This story is so damned boring. If I had been that stupid I wouldn't go public with it and make an even bigger fool of myself. It's perfectly ok to invest here, WITH THE RIGHT KIND OF PEOPLE. And he uses his son to shoot videos and whine about this on Facebook.

[Kees5555]

Same story I heard about a Dutch man: house of 10 million, a block of rooms he rented out (worth about the same). Lost everything to his gambling wife (had 2 kids together) who borrowed many millions form loan sharks.

They were married for 25 years.

Now he is living in a room in the house of 1 of his adult sons. He doesn't have any state pension because he has been living outside Holland during most of his live. And his personal pension was in this block of rooms. Totally bankrupt, nothing left !

[Mudcrab]

Put a hand on your heart and think in yourself....is it normal that young women ( girl ) fall in love with retired man???

It´s ALL about money. They marry even a 80yo if he has enough cash.

Money #1 in thailand #2 is their family.

Farang comes last

Yes Shark old mate...we get the message.

You have been taken for a few dollars/quid by a Thai lady who proved to be smarter than you.

You will now, and for evermore, continue to post, ad nauseum, the same old cliched posts for the term of your natural forum life.

Something I am sure we are all looking forward to.

[Sakeopete]

Look at him, look at her.

Everyone can see what's gonna happen ........ except him.

Question from interviewer, "What would you say to people that want to come here?"

Answer from me, "Don't marry a woman 1/3 your weight and 1/2 your age and expect her to love you or be trustworthy"

This isn't rocket science.

So your basing a successful marriage on age and body weight? Interesting considering the top 10 countries with the highest rate of divorce are all European except USA and Cuba. Maybe I miss understood and your implying that women that marry older men with large waistlines are dishonest?

Maybe the truth is that because Thailand has weak law enforcement and endemic corruption people can get away with fraud easily.

Lets face it we don't see things like this happening in our countries of origin because developed countries have effective police forces and reasonably honest courts. Its not that western people are moral and don't have a selfish bone in their bodies.

It certainly has nothing to do with age or waistline differences of married couples.

[t8769]

Agreed Mudcarp.This is the ThaiVisa cliche.

The miserable old Falang who posts the same thing 1000 times over, about how all Thais are dishonest and only after money. How they know the real Thailand and don't they love to tell everyone else.

You can find them propping up every old Fallang bar, desperately looking for someone to compain to.

​

[seancbk]

Just another example of never buying property in Thailand and never Invest any Money in anything here ...

Tell that to Bill Heinecke who made his US$ 1.14 billion fortune in Thailand

Or my good friend Peter who built Cape Yamu in Phuket, or my good friend Alan Zeman and his Paradise Group that built Andara in Phuket....

I know a lot of guys who've done very well in Thailand.

Far more than the ones who've lost money.

[Prbkk]

Many of the comments go way beyond a bit of schadenfreude....right into vicious, mean spirited, hateful. People do make mistakes but sure as hell you wouldn't want to seek sympathy here.

[Nomyai]

Would you trust Thailand and its people with your retirement savings i sure wouldnt.

No i wouldnt. esp with quite the age difference between the two.

Having 3 kids maybe the girl thought it would work but then after awhile changed her mind and decided its best to run with the money...................lol.

[stoneyboy]

Just another example of never buying property in Thailand and never Invest any Money in anything here ...

Tell that to Bill Heinecke who made his US$ 1.14 billion fortune in Thailand

Or my good friend Peter who built Cape Yamu in Phuket, or my good friend Alan Zeman and his Paradise Group that built Andara in Phuket....

I know a lot of guys who've done very well in Thailand.

Far more than the ones who've lost money.

Yeah there's a difference between businessmen and old retired sex tourists from the west I'm afraid.

[bazza40]

I don't understand how a guy who is obviously a successful businessman in the UK decides to sink all his money in Thailand. There have been a number of posters who set out quite simple rules for limiting risk here.

Having said that, it would be interesting to see real statistics instead of all this anecdotal stuff. While there are a lot of guys who have been screwed, there are also a lot of successful partnerships. Too early to say whether mine is one of them. ( 6 years )

I suspect a lot of the failures can be put down to the following factors:

1/ The girl is HiSo, which automatically puts her in a dubious category. A red flag.

2/ The age difference is too great. As a 72 year old, why the hell would I want to have a 25 year old?

3/ The girl is a slut, with anywhere between 2 and 6 clients/lovers.

4/ The family think they have latched on to the pot of gold.

There are a lot of Thai women out there who simply want a reliable provider, someone who isn't a drunk, gambler, butterfly or abusive. The problem for them and us is identifying one another.

[lostoday]

Put a hand on your heart and think in yourself....is it normal that young women ( girl ) fall in love with retired man???

Put your hand on your heart and say, "I never lost a Thai women to an old man."

[stickylies]

Put a hand on your heart and think in yourself....is it normal that young women ( girl ) fall in love with retired man???

Whats normal........?

Normal:

Not normal:

[jadee]

wow a million pounds - that guy really put a lot into Thailand. I can understand a 50K house but a million seems a little over the top. Is the narrator in the video is right that foreigners who buy property through Thai companies are 'given directorships with majority voting rights'? I thought in these shell companies foreigners could only own 49%. Just wondering. It would be ironic if a video warning foreigners of the risks were in fact making it appear that foreigners could control a Thai company. That guy seems really meticulous in documenting everything in those folders, makes you wonder how he took his eye off the ball.

[SaamBaht]

Sad story. I wish him well. Despite it all, he seems better off than could be expected. I more pissed then he is.

While there is fraud the world over, he comes from a place where there is redress. In Thailand, you cannot expect justice in the face of crime.

[faraday]

I'm sorry for anybodies misfortune; we all make mistakes & hopefully learn from them.

I was married when I lived in the uk, & got thoroughly shafted. Now, I don't trust anyone nearly as much, especially relationships.

Not bitter about how I was treated, just needed to make a mistake & learn from it.

[gemguy]

Another near perfect example of why not to take any chances at all concerning the purchase and or ownership of property here in Thailand.

Surprisingly enough the amount of real estate fraud is not as much as it could be...all factors considered.

Meantime, many people are inclined to buy property where ever they live or decide to reside or retire as that is a common factor amongst most people.....that being the desire to buy and own property rather than rent as owning property is all part of building your own personal wealth portfolio and commonly practiced around the world

If that is the case and you are one of the majority and you desire to own land here in Thailand then you will be subjected to the possibility of being cheated out of your property or land or house.....somehow , some way.

Here in Thailand it happens all too often and we also hear about it often enough while there within is a message and a strong warning to simply not get involved and certainly do not let any Thai people convince you that buying property is a safe and profitable investment here in Thailand.

As for those foreigners that do own property here in Thailand and state for the record that they have not had any problems concerning the ownership of their particular property or any investments in land or houses or properties, that does not change the fact that you are just as vulnerable and just as exposed as any other foreigner who owns land or properties or houses here in Thailand.

For some, unfortunately, it is just a matter of time before they are cheated out of their properties or their house or their land while we probably will not hear about it while someone is being cheated as we speak or soon to be cheated....unfortunately.

I have heard too many...far too many tales about foreigners losing it all...everything.... based on the purchase of property here in Thailand.

Ownership of Land or properties or houses with property is not a safe investment here in Thailand.

Better to put your money in the bank and rent a reasonably priced condo or apartment or consider buying a condo as that is a lot safer.

If you are a big risk taker....then buy land or properties or houses here in Thailand and see what happens or develops and the best of luck to you.

Cheers