Western men often think Thai women are subservient. Nothing could be further from the truth, as evidenced in the latest news out of Thailand. On December 19th in Pattaya, Mrs. Mali Siritham, aged 40, bit off her estranged husband’s penis after he forced her to have oral sex with him. Then she stabbed him, and killed him.
Unfortunately, a similar story appears in Thailand’s newspapers every week. The only difference in this case, where normally the Thai woman chops off the man’s penis with a knife and feeds it to the ducks, this poor woman let her teeth do the work and then she killed him. (see link to photos below)
The story begins when Khun Mali Siritham was confronted with her estranged husband, who appeared at her home drunk and demanding to have sex with her.
Forty seven year old Mr. Pairoj Farkgai had been married to Mrs. Mali for five years but after his affairs with other women increased, Mrs. Mali kicked him out and was filing for divorce. Mr. Pairoj still came to see their two young daughters a couple of times a week.
On the evening of December 19th, Mr. Pairoj, a high-level official at the Thai Ministry of Defense, showed up at Mrs. Mali’s house drunk and demanded to have sex with her. She refused and he beat her, then forced her to have oral sex.
Mrs. Mali says, she was so upset she bit off his penis and, in return, her husband grabbed a knife and stabbed her in the arm. Mrs. Mali managed to get the knife off him and stabbed him once in the stomach.
He died almost immediately. Mrs. Mali and her 70 year old father then called the police.
While probably shocking to many western readers to me, an expat who has lived in Thailand for years, this is somewhat of a normal news story. It’s also a reminder of how, although they may look beautiful, exotic and delicate, many Thai women won’t take abuse lying down and some do retaliate.
The chopping off of the husband, boyfriend or lover’s penis is so common, many in Thailand barely bat an eye. The reason this made national news is the simple reason the allegedly abusive husband’s penis was bitten off and then he was killed.
Some will also tell you, in this instance, Mrs. Mali may not have had a choice but to stab Mr. Pairoj. As her husband was a high-level official in the military, the old boys network will often kick in in Thailand when it comes to protecting the man, and Mrs. Mali’s life would probably have become a living hell.
The story of poor Mrs. Mali and the sadly dead Mr. Pairoj should also be held up as a cautionary tale to many of the western men in Thailand, caught up in the thrill of dating exotic and gorgeous Thai women. While they may look slight, frail and docile, a number are not and protecting themselves really is second nature.
I have many Thai female friends and, even as a woman, I wouldn’t cross most of them. While they are the sweetest, nicest, kindest women in the world, if they feel they’ve been wronged, watch out.
Like a male western friend of mine once told me, “The last time I saw my ex-girlfriend, she was rummaging in the knife drawer”.
Be warned.
