Loei teacher cries foul over romantic debacle, claiming serial fraudster married her and made off wi
A 56-year-old former schoolteacher from Loei, who had filed a police complaint against her 40-year-old husband for allegedly duping her into marrying him and giving him Bt7 million, claimed on Thursday that at least two more teachers had been victims of the same scam.
The Nation could not reach the two women who were named, one in Chiang Mai and other in Nakhon Ratchasima, by phone for comment.
The Loei former teacher, whose name has been withheld, said after she told her story to the media, many people had called her to ask questions and provide more information about the suspect’s alleged fraud perpetrated against many other women.
She said a Chiang Mai schoolteacher had been duped out of Bt160,000 and would filed a complaint against her elusive husband, while another Nakhon Ratchasima teacher had told her a year ago about how the suspect had taken Bt1.6 million cash and left her to pay Bt1.3 million in car debt.
The Loei teacher also said the man had called her on Thursday morning to scold her, saying he was not afraid of her police complaint because he had studied the law.
The former teacher recounted her story on Wednesday afternoon, referring to the accused by his nickname “Ton”, whom she said she had dated for seven months before registering a marriage certificate with him in September 2015. He allegedly fled to Bangkok the following day.
She claimed Ton, who had a business renting out audio equipment, had stringed her along in phone conversations to convince her to send him money on various occasions totalling Bt4 million.
After gathering her courage despite the personal embarrassment and the negative public perception regarding a teacher falling for a “criminal”, she said she had filed a police complaint with the Wang Saphung precinct after he absconded.
The complaint led to the man’s arrest, but the teacher then dropped the charges after he pled with her and promised to be with her.
Despite warnings from relatives and friends, she later quit her teaching job and sold her home to move in with Ton. When he arrived to pick her up, she left Bt1.2 million in cash and jewellery, including gold ornaments and two diamond rings worth almost Bt2 million, in her Toyota Altis sedan as she showered, after which she found that Ton had left with her valuables.
She later located him in a gambling den in Chanthaburi but he told her he had already sold her valuables, she said, adding that after she got into a car with him, he pushed her out of the vehicle and fled.
She then filed another police complaint at the Pong Nam Ron precinct in Chanthaburi, this time for assault.
On Tuesday, she filed a third police complaint against Ton at the Wang Saphung precinct for fraud.
Police have indicated there are suspicions that Ton might have lured more schoolteachers in various provinces into similar romantic scams, defrauding them of Bt150,000 to Bt1 million each.