Most of us are looking for a lifelong partner who would love and cherish us but sometimes, we have to kiss a few frogs before we finally meet our prince. This 30-year-old Thai woman known as Da thought she met the man of her dreams, but it turns out he was just a scammer who left her saddled with massive debt.
The woman, who worked as a product presenter also known locally as a “pretty”, had met a 50-year-old man, Nat, who claimed that he was a billionaire. Da’s mother said she only met him once during a relative’s funeral before they announced that they would be getting married, SCMP reported.
Da said that she had met Nat in March, and she was swept off her feet by him. The next day, he proposed to her and she accepted. He gave off the impression that he was very wealthy, and said that he was a CEO who had business connections in Hong Kong. They registered for marriage the next month and invited their friends and family to a luxurious celebration.
The lavish wedding was organised by a professional team in Bangkok and no expense was spared as the bill supposedly came out to be 3.5 million baht (RM482,018). The party was held at a luxury hotel in Muang district of the northeastern province on May 10th.
Everything went swimmingly until the wedding day when the groom suddenly left in the middle of the party, saying that he was urgently needed in Hong Kong. Only about 10 of his friends attended the event and the cashier cheque for 1.6 million baht (RM220,335) that Nat had offered as dowry had disappeared along with him. The bride’s family searched high and low for it but to no avail.
The jilted bride was left responsible for the debts for the lavish affair as he had left without settling the astronomical bill. As she does not come from a well-to-do family, she is distraught as she has no idea how to settle the huge debt. The hotel informed the bride that she could pay in installments but the wedding planner is suing her.
However, there has been a dispute about the bill, with the organiser of the wedding saying that her bill only cost 300,000 baht (RM41,314). The organiser has been under fire previously for supposedly charging 2.6 million baht (RM358,019) but she has come forward to clarify.
Bangkok Post reported that the organiser said, “Our team was sub-contracted to arrange this party at a luxury hotel in Buri Ram on May 10th this year. It was a really grand event. The major organiser was from Chanthaburi, and sub-contracted it to us. Our 20 team members spent three nights and days arranging the party. We were hired for 300,000 baht (RM41,314). Don’t rush to blame us before reading my explanation. Thank you for your understanding.’’
Nat had previously given the impression that he was a billionaire and had told people that he used to be an adviser to former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He also told the hotel owner where the wedding was held that he ran charter flights between Thailand and Hong Kong. His Instagram account has since been taken down but before that, he would always post photos of himself driving expensive cars, planes, sitting in private jets or with stacks of cash.
Oh dear, perhaps it’s best to get to know someone really well before you decide to make a lifelong commitment!