Canadian shot dead

Thai wife arrested after Canadian shot dead

Three people are in custody following the slaying of a Canadian man, who was shot dead in his home in Ranong early last week.

Oil worker Dale Henry, 48, was shot dead at close range. His Thai wife Maneerat, or Nee, her Thai lover and a gunman - allegedly the uncle of her boyfriend - have been charged over the murder. All three are thought to be from Ranong.

Thai authorities say that Maneerat organised the killing, allegedly giving him a glass of scotch whisky, waiting for him to fall asleep, then sending a text message to her lover, who allegedly entered the house with a hired gunman through a door she had left unlocked.

Local police have reportedly found incriminating text messages. One allegedly said "Do it tonight, uncle", while a later one allegedly advised him to "behave normally at the cremation".

Henry's death has made headlines in Western Canada - he is the second Canadian shot and killed in Thailand this year, following the fatal shooting of Leo del Pinto by a policeman in Pai on January 6.

Members of Henry's family are understood to be en route to Thailand for the funeral, being held in Ranong this week.

Henry's 27yearold wife is thought to have been motivated by greed. National newspaper The Globe and Mail quoted Henry's younger brother Richard as saying he suspected his brother was killed for an insurance policy worth 1 million Canadian dollars (Bt32 million).

Speaking from Vancouver Airport as he prepared to board a flight to Bangkok, he was quoted as saying: "It just makes me sick. He was just such a trusting guy and he was way too generous."

Henry grew up in Victoria and worked as a paramedic in Alberta. In recent years he had been working in West Africa - Nigeria - as the regional head of safety for Noble Drilling. His family said he would spend a month in Ranong with his wife, then two months in Nigeria.

The Globe and Mail said the couple had met when Maneerat was working behind a bar on Koh Samui. "Despite an age difference of more than 20 years, Henry thought he had found true love.

"Once they were married he gave her everything, his brother said. They lived like royalty on his $10,000 a month salary. He bought a home for her parents and bought her an SUV. And while some Western men gave their wives an allowance, Henry gave Maneerat, or Nee as he called her, access to all his bank accounts, his brother said.

"He bought her everything, he said. 'That's why it's so unbelievable,' he was quoted saying.

"But when Richard last visited Thailand in July 2007, the three of them had discussed the $1million life insurance policy provided by his company. Should Henry be killed, Nee was to give his brother 10 per cent of the settlement.

"On a trip with his wife's family to northern Thailand at the end of last summer, Henry fell and broke his leg in eight places. Henry had been off work ever since."


Source : The Nation ; Tue, February 12, 2008