NAKHON RATCHASIMA - A 53-year-old Swiss man admitted to police that he accidentally strangled his Thai wife out of his anger, during an argument, but police found a playing card lodged in her throat.
The man, identified only as Roland, told police during his five-hour-long interrogation on Monday that the incident occurred amid a heated quarrel with his wife Orathai Posee-ngarm, 46.
Roland initially visited the Khonburi police station on Monday to retrieve his previously confiscated passport.
The man told police that he carried Orathai's body on a motorcycle and dumped it in a cornfield in Ban Khok Kruad village of tambon Chaliang in Khon Buri district. The field is about three kilometres from their home.
Further examination of the body revealed not only the playing card in the throat but also traces of adhesive tape on the mouth.
Tod Posee-ngarm, the woman's father, said he was heartbroken and also furious at Roland because his family had treated him well. The father said he never expected such cruelty from him.
Orathai had gone missing from her home in Ban Khok Kwan of tambon Cha Liang on Jan 8.
The woman had inherited about 13 million baht from her first Swiss husband, who died in 2021. After marrying Roland, they had moved to Thailand two years ago.