A woman in Thailand’s lower northern province of Nakhon Sawan allegedly planned to have her husband run over by a car, so that she and her friend could have his 10 million baht insurance payout. The woman, 48 year old Pratheep, and her friend, 60 year old Jaemchan, allegedly hired Jaemchan’s nephew to do the deed for them, running Pratheep’s husband over with his car.
The nephew, Ekkasit, carried out the act, and ran over Pratheep’s husband on a road in Banphot Phisai district. However, the husband survived, although he was critically injured. Police found Ekkasit’s car in a roadside paddy field with its front damaged. They also found the husband’s damaged bicycle he had been riding when Ekkasit hit him.
While the crash first looked like an accident, police investigators noticed a few fishy signs. After they made Ekkasit re-enact the crash, and intensely questioned him, Ekkasit admitted that Jaemchan had hired him to kill Pratheep’s husband. Pratheep could then claim her husband’s insurance pay-out.
After the confession, investigators collected more evidence before questioning Jaemchan.
Pratheep and her husband Pia, who is Danish, used to live in Denmark together before they moved to Pratheep’s home province of Nakhon Sawan. They have two children. The couple had reportedly been fighting recently, and Pratheep had asked for a divorce and for their assets to be divided.
When Pia denied her request, she had reportedly reached out to her old Jaemchan. Jaemchan accused of contract killing 10 years ago, but had the charges dropped. Jaemchan reportedly promised Ekkasit a new car if he carried out the act.
An eerily similar incident happened in Thailand two years ago when a 63 year old Chiang Mai woman was arrested for allegedly hiring a hitman to kill her ex-husband because she wanted his life insurance payout. Another incident of spousal violence happened earlier this month when a Chon Buri man killed his son and wounded his wife in a shooting, before killing himself.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post