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

[thaibeachlovers]

This is what you need to remember when you come here to live which is nothing like vacationing here. This culture is 180 opposite to yours. Here family comes first and I mean first. What you think is love is really just respect of your ability to provide for her and her family. You will have her respect as long as you remember this. If you fail or even if she perceives that your not willing to do this then there is no such thing as forgiveness only revenge and compensation. And she will initiate a rather elaborate scheme to defraud you of your assets. She will do this to insure she can continue to live in the manner she has grown accustomed to. When she decides to leave you there will be no indicators. When she is ready to leave you will be blindsided. Take a look at some of the so called happily married foreigners who have that passive subdued demeanor. That is the face of a man that is at the mercy of a woman that can take everything he has and that which is signed in her name. You can't win for the police, the laws and a nation of Thais stand against you. Keep your head and a stash..

This is so good and throws light on the difference in cultures and why many farangs think it's love whilst the Thai women have an entirely different view of it............so good in fact that I've copied and pasted it for future reference and to pass on to friends who come here.

IMO any old man who marries a girl half his age anywhere in the world and thinks she "loves" him, whatever "love" is, is deluded, desperate and foolish. That applies whether it is Hugh Heffner, Rod Stewart or any old millionaire with a trophy wife.

All they are doing is setting themselves up for the big divorce payout.

[thaibeachlovers]

This is what you need to remember when you come here to live which is nothing like vacationing here. This culture is 180 opposite to yours. Here family comes first and I mean first. What you think is love is really just respect of your ability to provide for her and her family. You will have her respect as long as you remember this. If you fail or even if she perceives that your not willing to do this then there is no such thing as forgiveness only revenge and compensation. And she will initiate a rather elaborate scheme to defraud you of your assets. She will do this to insure she can continue to live in the manner she has grown accustomed to. When she decides to leave you there will be no indicators. When she is ready to leave you will be blindsided. Take a look at some of the so called happily married foreigners who have that passive subdued demeanor. That is the face of a man that is at the mercy of a woman that can take everything he has and that which is signed in her name. You can't win for the police, the laws and a nation of Thais stand against you. Keep your head and a stash..

Thanks for the laugh. You need to qualify what you say, as in "in SOME cases if you fail or even if she perceives that your not willing to do this then there is no such thing as forgiveness only revenge and compensation. And she will initiate a rather elaborate scheme to defraud you of your assets".

My wife knew before she married me the family were getting zip from me, and she knows I don't have any "assets" that she can defraud from me.

She works to give her own money to the family, not mine.

If she wants to leave me, that could happen regardless of how much I gave her, and I really don't want to take a washing machine and the microwave with me if I do have to leave.

She has nothing worth anything "signed in her name", which is what I and many on here are saying. Don't buy property, don't buy a car, don't have joint bank accounts etc etc.

That is the secret to peace of mind when marrying a Thai woman.

[AGareth2]

I think " invest" is the wrong word. If you have children just buy the house in the wife's name and be done with it.

well said

3 kids 3 houses

best thing a father can do

[theguyfromanotherforum]

I think " invest" is the wrong word. If you have children just buy the house in the wife's name and be done with it.

well said

3 kids 3 houses

best thing a father can do

Sarcasm? If you have children with a woman of ill repute like Ian (and apparently some TV posters) then what good is the house (or 3) when a selfish woman like this is going to pi$$ it away.

Reason number 182 to marry someone close to your age whose parents are not dependant on hitting a farang gold mine.

[Kitsune]

1/He seems like a very nice and educated guy and for 8 years nothing was wrong with his marriage, so that's shocking because he was rightfully in complete trust.

2/ Yes she is much younger than him and he should have known that this is not the UK where Mick Jagger marrying much younger women is all good and accepted, and when divorce gets ugly lawyers are there to protect your assets. Here divorce doesn't pay much hence the fraud.

[nontabury]

This is what you need to remember when you come here to live which is nothing like vacationing here. This culture is 180 opposite to yours. Here family comes first and I mean first. What you think is love is really just respect of your ability to provide for her and her family. You will have her respect as long as you remember this. If you fail or even if she perceives that your not willing to do this then there is no such thing as forgiveness only revenge and compensation. And she will initiate a rather elaborate scheme to defraud you of your assets. She will do this to insure she can continue to live in the manner she has grown accustomed to. When she decides to leave you there will be no indicators. When she is ready to leave you will be blindsided. Take a look at some of the so called happily married foreigners who have that passive subdued demeanor. That is the face of a man that is at the mercy of a woman that can take everything he has and that which is signed in her name. You can't win for the police, the laws and a nation of Thais stand against you. Keep your head and a stash..

Thanks for the laugh. You need to qualify what you say, as in "in SOME cases if you fail or even if she perceives that your not willing to do this then there is no such thing as forgiveness only revenge and compensation. And she will initiate a rather elaborate scheme to defraud you of your assets".

My wife knew before she married me the family were getting zip from me, and she knows I don't have any "assets" that she can defraud from me.

She works to give her own money to the family, not mine.

If she wants to leave me, that could happen regardless of how much I gave her, and I really don't want to take a washing machine and the microwave with me if I do have to leave.

She has nothing worth anything "signed in her name", which is what I and many on here are saying. Don't buy property, don't buy a car, don't have joint bank accounts etc etc.

That is the secret to peace of mind when marrying a Thai woman.

You sound as if you don't have any money anyway.

[thaibeachlovers]

This is what you need to remember when you come here to live which is nothing like vacationing here. This culture is 180 opposite to yours. Here family comes first and I mean first. What you think is love is really just respect of your ability to provide for her and her family. You will have her respect as long as you remember this. If you fail or even if she perceives that your not willing to do this then there is no such thing as forgiveness only revenge and compensation. And she will initiate a rather elaborate scheme to defraud you of your assets. She will do this to insure she can continue to live in the manner she has grown accustomed to. When she decides to leave you there will be no indicators. When she is ready to leave you will be blindsided. Take a look at some of the so called happily married foreigners who have that passive subdued demeanor. That is the face of a man that is at the mercy of a woman that can take everything he has and that which is signed in her name. You can't win for the police, the laws and a nation of Thais stand against you. Keep your head and a stash..

Thanks for the laugh. You need to qualify what you say, as in "in SOME cases if you fail or even if she perceives that your not willing to do this then there is no such thing as forgiveness only revenge and compensation. And she will initiate a rather elaborate scheme to defraud you of your assets".

My wife knew before she married me the family were getting zip from me, and she knows I don't have any "assets" that she can defraud from me.

She works to give her own money to the family, not mine.

If she wants to leave me, that could happen regardless of how much I gave her, and I really don't want to take a washing machine and the microwave with me if I do have to leave.

She has nothing worth anything "signed in her name", which is what I and many on here are saying. Don't buy property, don't buy a car, don't have joint bank accounts etc etc.

That is the secret to peace of mind when marrying a Thai woman.

You sound as if you don't have any money anyway.

That is what I like her to think.

[AGareth2]

reckon he should get a job

could teach

[Nomyai]

I havent watched the film but say I had kids with a foreign wife and she shafted me for a load of money, I'd then say ok, thats the inheritance for the kids right there, and get a legal letter sent. Then when the kids grow up, they know mum has/had their money in assets/capital

What planet are you from. Crooks dont steal to set up legacies for their children..................................hahahahaha.

[eldragon]

To the ones commenting that they deserved it/bar girls/whatever

How does that excuse the systematic corruption of every single official that took part in the theft?

How do you use "stupid farang" as an excuse for bullies leaving a kid a the bottom of a well and menacing to kill a family?

Finally, what did these farangs' kids do to deserve their childhood being spoiled by trips to the court and hiding from the mafia?

We're not excusing anyone. We're just saying the guy should've been smarter. Anyway, you remind me of something I've been thinking about the last 24 hours, and that is we don't even know who is really behind this. It's possible that a couple gangsters approached this girl and threatened to kill her children if she didn't go along with whatever plan they'd hatched to get this guy's money. Thais are always in the ears of girls that date foreigners- regardless of the age difference- telling em they should be sucking us dry. I'm sure there's some group of scumbags out there that target young girls with older husbands, knowing everyone will point the finger at the girl while they run off with most of the cash.

[AGareth2]

why is she in prison?

[thaibeachlovers]

reckon he should get a job

could teach

If that's aimed at me, having far too much fun being retired to go back to work.

[fang37]

Work - I was obsessed. Now, I have an allergy towards it!

[Motown239]

Dark stories! In general, some people are gullible or naive . . . Only loving the flesh and not the soul. How many times and a person loose their nest egg or savings.

It attempt to life a fantasy life, can result in disaster and hardship. Even Thai women fall victim to dishonest Thai and farang husbands. Marriage within your socioeconomic group would provide a greater change for a successful.

Edited September 26, 2015 by Motown239

[theguyfromanotherforum]

Dark stories! In general, some people are gullible or naive . . . Only loving the flesh and not the soul. How many times and a person loose their nest egg or savings.

It attempt to life a fantasy life, can result in disaster and hardship. Even Thai women fall victim to dishonest Thai and farang husbands. Marriage within your socioeconomic group would provide a greater change for a successful.

Relationship

[jacky54]

why is she in prison?

I think it's called fraud she falsified signatures

[G Forster]

The same happened to me

[AGareth2]

didn't she sign in front of a lawyer?

[AGareth2]

unless she' confessed'

[huawei]

very strange indeed, I actually thought you married for love, I mean why marry someone you dont trust. I trust my wife implicitly, there are no worries about her stealing my money or anything else. Dont know how you lot that marry much younger women then not trust them live, must be frustrating as sh*t knowing you can never trust her with anything or buy her anything nice. Yes there are some bad ones around, as many as the men that are just as bad and are busy screwing anything they can behind her back to boost their ego's, pretty pathetic really. Occasionally someone is caught out but a lot of us arent and are in very happy marriages, feel sorry for those that are in theirs for the anything other than love, what a waste of a life, at least the poor bugger that was ripped off has enough sense to move on and still trust people, some of you lot must have bloody miserable lives with these untrustworthy females.

Thai women dont marry for love.

If they marry farangs..

Rubbish. I know a Thai woman that was forced to marry a Thai man because he raped her, and she won't be alone in that.

If Thais married other Thais for "love", whatever that means, sin sod would cease to be a factor. The way it is now, families want their daughters to marry rich Thai men for the big payout.

I have been to about 30 weddings in my stay in Thailand. Most I would guess we're for love. Work colleagues marrying, girlfriends met at Uni, the foreigners meeting girls at work, you know normal stuff.

Sin Sod, re- invented to fleece the farangs. Most instances that I am aware of it was returned no problem, so no transfer of wealth.

Where on the coast do you live. I have never heard of someone being raped and then forced into marriage in the decades I have lived and worked here.

I would like my daughter to marry someone wealthy who she loves..ain't going to happen the boyfriend is just a normal guy..she has dated very wealthy guys - not necessary recommended.

I thought at first you must live in some dirt poor part of issaan but your user name indicates otherwise.

Got to be careful stating something is rubbish..when your experience maybe limited. Not denying it didn't happen nothing surprises in Thailand..

The comment was a bit tongue in cheap but but based on truth..

[huawei]

I think " invest" is the wrong word. If you have children just buy the house in the wife's name and be done with it.

well said

3 kids 3 houses

best thing a father can do

Sarcasm? If you have children with a woman of ill repute like Ian (and apparently some TV posters) then what good is the house (or 3) when a selfish woman like this is going to pi$$ it away.

Reason number 182 to marry someone close to your age whose parents are not dependant on hitting a farang gold mine.

So if you marry some one close to your age ( highly recommended) from a reasonably Independent family..have children..then buying a house is ok?

If Thailand is your home, you have children..it's ok to buy..infact I would say it's pretty fundamental...that plus giving them a good education..I don't get the mass paranoia..you can only do your best.

As long as you are not all in.

If your a retiree with a lot of funds then again nothing wrong with it.

The problem is most retirees here seem to sell up in their own countries to buy..the biggest mistake any individual can make..

Never and I mean never sell all your overseas assets to invest in landed property here..which is the case here..

[fang37]

# 843

No major comment.

Sin-sod - never heard of a farang pay it. Never heard of a farang being requested to pay it.

Total time in LOS - 13 years.

Most of the time in CNX. Recently, moved 150km NE of CNX.

In the north, "encouragement" to finance the construction of a family home is not uncommon. My experience is that the lady does not have the funds & the male expat desires a home in a rural area.

Of course, he cannot purchase land in Thailand & I assume he is comfortable with his decision.

I have owned a condo & am now living in her residence.

[xylophone]

I believe this is covering the same subject as the other thread called, "The Phuket property nightmare", and I would like to post on this thread something I posted on that one, this especially for all of the posters who have been ripping into the poor guy for one reason or another, especially those suggesting he got his just deserts because he was engaging in "illegal activities" (buying the house through a company etc) …………..

“There seems to be some confusion as regards this case and also property ownership, however I believe "Sviss Geez" is correct when he states that the man already had a company formed that was a legitimate business, so under that premise, "ownership" of the house is permitted through the company route.

Of course no one can ever own the land unless you are one of the few who can invest 40 million baht, however going down the route described above is perfectly legal.

It is illegal to form a company with the sole intention of purchasing a property and forming a company which has no other activity other than owning this property. So from what I can see what he did was perfectly legal.

Someone else has suggested that his wife was perfectly entitled to do what she did with regards to the transferring of ownership because it was done under the marriage scenario, however the man has stated that they were not married, so that in effect seems illegal.

I also like what "NamKangMan" says when he states, "DON'T bring ANY western concept of "providing a home" for your family into a country that DOES NOT allow you to do so". And although this country does allow you to "provide a home" for your family, it doesn't allow you the same privileges as other countries do in as much as there you can own the land, but here you can't.

It does seem like this guy was screwed over and one has to remember that in a place as corrupt as Phuket, moneylenders and the like have contacts in very high places and of course the cash to be able to ensure that brown envelopes change hands to achieve the necessary results”.

[huawei]

To the ones commenting that they deserved it/bar girls/whatever

How does that excuse the systematic corruption of every single official that took part in the theft?

How do you use "stupid farang" as an excuse for bullies leaving a kid a the bottom of a well and menacing to kill a family?

Finally, what did these farangs' kids do to deserve their childhood being spoiled by trips to the court and hiding from the mafia?

We're not excusing anyone. We're just saying the guy should've been smarter. Anyway, you remind me of something I've been thinking about the last 24 hours, and that is we don't even know who is really behind this. It's possible that a couple gangsters approached this girl and threatened to kill her children if she didn't go along with whatever plan they'd hatched to get this guy's money. Thais are always in the ears of girls that date foreigners- regardless of the age difference- telling em they should be sucking us dry. I'm sure there's some group of scumbags out there that target young girls with older husbands, knowing everyone will point the finger at the girl while they run off with most of the cash.

In general. In this case I am not sure what he could have done until the red flags started waving. Then he acted..good for him..

These young girls have no education, no life experiences, born into poverty..easy to manipulate and pressurise..doesn't make her necessary a bad person but almost definitely a vulnerable one..it's clearly money lending sharks.

To me he comes across as more decent than many..he was beaten by systematic corruption at every turn.

[slerickson]

Most us know why the Thais get away with this and take precautions to never be in that situation in the first place.

Never ever buy any property of any sort or make any investment in this country, this is the rules that I have made for myself for the last 20 years.. The people in this video could have avoided all this heartache if they just rented. What is it with farangs wanting to make companies and only having 49% control and allowing Thais having 51% control? Would they be crazy enough to do this in their home country? Or paying millions of baht for a lease that can be forged and lost? Trust a Thai wife and put the property in her name? Only if you are willing to lose the lot.

Keep all your investments in your home country in your name, safe and sound.

Just rent, anything goes wrong, grab you bags and get on the first flight out and nothing but some furniture might be lost.

so if you haven't bought any property or other investments here the last 20 years? really? No stocks? No property? No life insurance etc whatsoever?

Nothing, zero. All I have is a Thai Bank Account that I transfer small amounts too and use as needed. I use Insurance from my home country and all my investments are back home safe and secure.

exactly as I do.

[huawei]

Wow, I nearly invested in some property in Thailand, and at the last minute had a gut instinct not to. After reading this nightmare of a story I'm glad I didn't, and absolutely never, ever will invest a dime in LoS. I'll happily keep spending a few bucks here and there for fun, temporary experiences though.

Love how the authorities leave this guy high and dry while they focus their efforts and collaborate with Thai Immigration on solving a 2 year old 1500bht restaurant bill. What a joke of a criminal justice system!

Having lived here many years and bought and sold property and dealt with almost every institution there is..I think you are right..I never use to think that but I do now, and this is from someone who has had a successful business, profitable property dealings but that was mostly thru favourable exchange rates and the opportunities that came about because of the Asian crisis, basically luck!

Keep you money back home is the way to go for many..it's becoming ridiculous here now..times have changed.

[huawei]

I also like what "NamKangMan" says when he states, "DON'T bring ANY western concept of "providing a home" for your family into a country that DOES NOT allow you to do so". And although this country does allow you to "provide a home" for your family, it doesn't allow you the same privileges as other countries do in as much as there you can own the land, but here you can't.

Sorry for shortening your message to the appropriate part.

This is just plain wrong. A home is not a western concept.

I have had a family raised them in both a condo and a house..I don't feel that I have been restricted in anyway. What privileges did I miss, the land ownership ..I knew about that , so I didn't act in ignorance it was an intelligent decision based on what I knew.The condo was in my name the house in the wife's name..I thought it very simple..I didn't bother with a lease or usufruct, company etc..because most of my assets are abroad and sufficiently protected.

I think anyone who has a family should buy a house if they so want to create a "home" ..the amount they put into the home is where it may become irrational.

I do suggest you live here about 10 years before doing so.

[nithisa78]

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

says loads about how trustworthy you aren't.

[thaibeachlovers]

Dark stories! In general, some people are gullible or naive . . . Only loving the flesh and not the soul. How many times and a person loose their nest egg or savings.

It attempt to life a fantasy life, can result in disaster and hardship. Even Thai women fall victim to dishonest Thai and farang husbands. Marriage within your socioeconomic group would provide a greater change for a successful.

LOL. My ex, from my socioeconomic group took me for everything. Started basically from zero at 35.

[dageurreotype]

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

says loads about how trustworthy you aren't.

You obviously don't live on Phuket.