“Why’s that?” asked Wallop. “A crime has been committed and a man is fighting for his life in hospital. Why would the Saudis refuse to help?”
“Google is your best friend,” retorted the Director before abruptly putting down the phone.
The Blue Diamond Affair: The Jewel Heist That Became a Diplomatic Nightmare
The Blue Diamond Affair, a series of events that poisoned diplomatic relations between Thailand and Saudi Arabia, was caused by a 1989 theft of gems belonging to the House of Saud by a Thai employee. The affair has soured relations between Saudi Arabia and Thailand ever since.
In 1989 Kriangkrai Techamong was employed in Saudi Arabia as a servant in the palace of Prince Faisal bin Fahd. Kriangkrai stole US$20 million in gems and jewellery, including a valuable blue diamond, from the prince’s bedroom and hid the stolen jewellery in a vacuum cleaner bag at the palace. He then shipped them to his home in Lampang Province, Thailand.
A Royal Thai Police investigation led by Lieutenant-General Chalor Kerdthes resulted in the arrest of Kriangkrai and the recovery of most of the stolen jewellery. Kriangkrai was sentenced to seven years in prison. However, thanks to his cooperation and confession, he was released after serving only three years.
Thai officials flew to Saudi Arabia to return the stolen items. But soon the Saudi Arabian authorities discovered that the blue diamond was not included in the returned loot and they discovered also that about half of the returned gems were not the stolen ones but fake replacements. Not much later the Thai media published charity gala photos where numerous wives of government officials were seen wearing diamond necklaces resembling those stolen from the palace. Of course this triggered Saudi suspicions that the Thai police and other Thai officials had taken the jewels for themselves. Mohammad al-Ruwaili, a Saudi Arabian businessman close to the Saudi royal family, travelled to Bangkok to investigate. He disappeared on 12 February 1990, never to be seen or heard of again and is presumed to have been murdered. In addition, a few days before his disappearance, three Saudi Embassy officials were shot dead in Bangkok.
The murders remain unsolved, and no connection to the jewellery heist has been proven, but the Saudi government proclaimed that the Thai government had not done enough to resolve the mystery surrounding Al-Ruwaili’s murder and that of three other Saudi diplomats.
Lieutenant-General Chalor was convicted and sentenced to death for ordering the 1995 murder of the wife and son of a gem dealer presumably involved in the affair.
The judgement was upheld by the Thai Supreme Court and Chalor was sentenced to death on 16 October 2009. Six other policemen were also convicted of involvement in the murders.
In 2002 Police Lieutenant-Colonel Pansak Mongkolsilp, who also was involved in the affair, was sentenced to life in prison. The term was upheld on appeal in 2005, but he was released in 2012.
Relations between the two countries deteriorated following these events. Saudi Arabia halted issuing work visas for Thais and discouraged its citizens from visiting Thailand. Diplomatic missions were downgraded to the chargé d’affaires level, and the number of Thais working in Saudi Arabia fell from 150,000-200,000 in 1989 to just 10,000 in 2008. This resulted in Thailand losing about 200 billion baht in annual remittances.
21
Chapter 21
New York City: The Bronx
Lisa came home from the hospital at around 10 pm, still in her nursing uniform. Securing this job was an accomplishment for a black girl from the Bronx, but she still had to work extra shifts and do another job, looking after a retired couple, in order to support her elderly father. Unusually, her father was sitting in his armchair, waiting for her to come home. That morning, the old man had walked down a flight of stairs to collect the mail, taking twenty minutes to slowly climb back up the stairs with the stack of mail in hand. He put the letters down on the kitchen table and then began going through them. A few letters in, he came to an envelope carrying the logo of a law firm in Kentucky. He almost discarded it as junk mail, but his curiosity got the better of him and he opened the envelope.
“We are the executors of a now defunct investment fund in Hong Kong” the letter began. The old man recognized the name of the fund. A few years previously a smooth-talking salesman had persuaded him to make an investment over the phone. The salesman had convinced him that his investment would quickly go through the roof. When the firm became incommunicado, he went to the Bronx neighbourhood office of the Legal Aid Society, which confirmed what he had been afraid of. He’d been cheated, left to live off a small state pension while his daughter was forced to take on extra shifts and other jobs to help pay for his prescriptions.
“I’m pleased to inform you that your investment has dramatically increased in value” the letter continued. Attached was a cheque for $170,000. When Lisa approached her father, who’d been waiting for her patiently, the old man handed her the letter and cheque. She read the letter and the two sat in silence – they’d finally been given a break. Similar letters from the Kentucky law firm were received by others throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, leaving the recipients astonished and happy.
Maura
Over the past few weeks her life had changed dramatically. Her work had changed too. The usual legal work of divorces, insurance disputes and managing the miners’ estates had certainly taken a back seat. She’d never been involved with the sale of cryptocurrency before, but it turned out to be a pretty straightforward process. She sold the bitcoin on a major exchange, and shortly after there was close to 35 million dollars sitting in her company account. Tracing down the investors was more challenging, however. Hubert’s Hong Kong bank account showed their names and account numbers, but no addresses were available. Nonetheless, she’d eventually managed to track down all the investors. Tony wrote, instructing her to assess a four percent handling charge to the investors, reassuring her that all the investors would still be walking away with a tremendous return on their investments. When everything was settled, he had one more instruction, “Close up shop and come to me. I’m waiting for you.”
Epilogue
The building stood tall on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, its construction had halted decades earlier due to the Asian financial crisis. The forty-nine floors were meant to be filled with condominium units as well as a shopping mall and a number of swimming pools, restaurants and wine bars. Tukataa sneaked into the deserted building through a gap in the metal fence and began climbing the concrete stairs. The HIV virus had already caused her to develop AIDS. Each day she suffered from fevers and headaches, and had rashes all over her body – her immune system had already given up.
It took Tukataa a long time to reach the upper floors. She had to pause to catch her breath several times on the way up, and by the time she’d neared the top, the sun was already setting. She found a space in what would have been the penthouse to plan her final escape. She carried with her a small bottle of Sangsom rum and enough yabaa tablets to bring down a water buffalo. She also brought a plastic cup she’d found in a litter bin in front of a McDonald’s. After sitting in silence for a while, Tukataa picked up a discarded brick and crushed the tablets into a powder, which she added to the cup. Then she filled the cup with Sangsom.
As she sipped the mixture, Tukataa reflected on her life. She recalled her childhood, spent selling roses to tourists and washing car windscreens at traffic lights. Her mind then wandered towards the beatings in the orphanage and her subsequent life as a street prostitute. This life had not given her much. She was looking forward to the next one. When she felt on the verge of passing out, Tukataa swallowed the remaining mixture of rum, methamphetamine and caffeine. A cruise-boat passed by on the river far below. A live band was performing on the upper deck, while guests enjoyed the elegant buffet being served. Moments after her soul left her body, it floated over the cruise boat. Tukataa looked down and smiled, overwhelmed with happiness.
About the author
Dutch national Pieter
Wilhelm was born in the eastern part of the Netherlands to a very religious family who attempted, unsuccessfully, to indoctrinate him with their brand of religion. A runaway teen who dropped out of technical college, Pieter worked the funfairs before cleaning and coating oil tanks on ships and in factories. After entering compulsory national service at 19, Pieter was convicted of insubordination for which he served time in a military jail. Once discharged from the army, he worked as a delivery courier and sold insurance. In 2005, Pieter emigrated to Thailand and became a language teacher in Bangkok. Pieter likes to travel, not only in Thailand but also throughout Southeast Asia, frequently off the beaten track. The Second Poison is his debut novel. Learn more about the author at pieterwilhelm.com.
Author's Note
Dear Reader
Thank you for taking the time to read my first novel, The Second Poison. I hope reading it has given you as much pleasure as I got in writing it. If you liked this story, I would be very grateful if you took a moment to post a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or on one of my social media profiles that you can find through my website pieterwilhelm.com.
Pieter Wilhelm
Bangkok
The Second Poison Page 12