Tattoo Artist Defrauded of Nearly 1 Million Baht Over Six Years
A tattoo artist from Kanchanaburi lost nearly 1 million baht over six years to a woman who repeatedly borrowed money with false claims of illness and family emergencies, then disappeared without repaying him.
On July 22, 2026, Mr. Sompooch (surname withheld), a 48-year-old renowned tattoo artist from Lao Khwan district in Kanchanaburi, decided to ride his motorcycle 162 kilometers with his 8-year-old son to seek help from a local rescue hotline after being defrauded by a single mother of five who conned him into lending money over six years, totaling nearly 1 million baht. He is now destitute, with only about 2,000 baht remaining in his bank account.
Sompooch revealed that he met the suspect, referred to as "Nang Lek," through his ex-wife in early 2021, and they began dating on June 18, 2021. Nang Lek visited him once or twice a month and first asked to borrow 5,000 baht on July 27, claiming she needed it to buy a tablet for her son who was about to enter monastic studies. After that, she borrowed money over 200 times with various excuses—claiming to be seriously ill, that her stepfather died, her mother died, or that she had an accident. The largest single transfer was 50,000 baht on July 5, 2022, when she claimed she needed to settle a debt on behalf of her half-sister who was being threatened by loan sharks.
Sompooch agreed to transfer money because he felt sorry for her and thought of her as his wife. Nang Lek also claimed to have 5 million baht in a bank account earning 30,000 baht monthly interest and promised to withdraw all the money and repay him by April 12, but she never returned even a single baht. He even had to borrow an additional 10,000 baht from relatives and sold his possessions to repay them, all while caring for his bedridden parents.
Nang Lek stopped contacting him on June 6 this year. When Sompooch brought evidence to file a complaint at Lao Khwan Police Station, officers refused, claiming it was a civil matter requiring him to hire a lawyer and file a lawsuit himself. He then rode his motorcycle with his son to seek help from a local rescue hotline and sent a message to Nang Lek asking her to answer his calls and discuss debt repayment if she sees the news.
Aekkaphop Luengprasert, founder of the rescue hotline, said he would contact the superintendent of Lao Khwan Police Station to urge officers to accept the complaint and proceed according to law in order to help the victim who is currently suffering greatly.
