A woman is suing the father of her son for child support after he said he wanted to break up with her in a text message a few weeks after winning 30 million baht in the lottery.
Saowanee Thongwiset is seeking 10 million baht to raise and educate the couple's 8-month-old son, her lawyer, Theerapon Pochanukul, told The Associated Press. The amount is one-third of the 30 million baht that her common-law husband, a clothing store security guard in northeastern Thailand, won as the first prize in the lottery on Sept 16.
The couple, who were living together at the time, cashed the winnings together at a local bank and deposited the money in the man's account, Mr Theerapon said. A few days later the husband, Thammarong Keawsuanjik, transferred 700,000 baht into the account of the wife and their son, which is being maintained by the mother.
Then on Monday, the 28-year-old woman received a text message from Mr Thammarong saying, "Let's break up", said Mr Theerapon.
Her husband bought land with the money and is now building a house, the lawyer said.
Besides seeking a share of the winnings, Ms Saowanee has also gone to the Juvenile and Family Court to make the man register their baby as his lawful son.
"Saowanee believes that if he is honest and wants to keep the family he would have taken her to see the land that he bought and talk to her about it,'' said Mr Theerapon. She will continue with the lawsuit unless they can come to an agreement during a pre-trial hearing on Nov 30, he said.
Mr Thammarong and his lawyer could not be reached immediately for comment.
But he told Matichon newspaper that now that she has gone to court, he might counter-sue her for custody of the baby.