
UDON THANI – The mother and sister of Ms. Sudthida Saensaeng, also known as Waew, 32, the Thai woman who was murdered in Keelung on Saturday, have traveled to Taiwan to perform her funeral rites, with the help of relatives and neighbors who jointly raised money to donate for the cost of the plane tickets.
When the officials from the Udon Thani Provincial Department of Labor visied Ms. Sudthida’s family in Tad Thong Sub-district, Sri That District, Udon Thani Province, they met Mrs. Duangporn Changlek, 59, Sudthida’s aunt.
They asked her aunt about Sudthida’s working conditions in Taiwan and provided information about the social security system. As Sudthida had not contacted an official employment agency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had to negotiate the funeral assistance.

“In the past, the bodies of deceased workers were not repatriated due to the high costs involved. Most of the time, funerals are held in Taiwan and the family bring back the ashes home for rituals. I advise the family to inform the Thai officials in Taiwan about the deceased’s belongings so that they can be returned in full,” said Nalinpan Siowchaisakul, senior labor academic from the Udon Thani Labor Office.
When Sudthida’s rights were checked, it was discovered that she had never worked abroad and had gone to Taiwan illegally this time. However, she was still entitled to benefits under the Social Security Act as she had previously worked in a factory and had joined the social security system.

After leaving employment, she continued to be voluntarily insured under Section 39 by contributing to the Social Insurance Fund. Therefore, her family would receive funeral expenses of 50,000 baht, a retirement pension of 63,744 baht and a death benefit of 28,800 baht.
Mrs. Duangporn thanked the officials and told them that Sudthida was a single mother of two children. On her sister’s recommendation, she traveled to Taiwan on a three-month tourist visa to work as a traditional Thai massage therapist. After her visa expired, she continued to work illegally to send money home and save 5 baht of gold (about 200,000 baht or 5,500 USD) to sell and build a house in Thailand.
Later, Sudthida was in a relationship with a man from Nakhon Phanom who had worked legally in a factory for four years. She told him that she no longer wanted to work as a masseuse because it was too strenuous and looked for a new job. She found a job advertisement on Facebook for a housekeeper with a salary of 35,000 baht and applied. However, after working for only three days, she was murdered.
“She called me and told me that her boyfriend had taken her to work. A female employer who is also Thai picked her up and took her to a messy and dirty house. The employer went through her luggage and probably saw the gold. During the three days she worked, the employer made her work very hard without breaks. On the day of the incident, she called and said she was exhausted and had not eaten. Out of anger, she kicked a bucket of water,” Duangporn said.

She added that on Friday night, the employer asked Sudthida to pick vegetables on the mountain, but she was scared and sent her location to her boyfriend, who reported to the police and tried to rescue her but was too late.
Sudthida’s boyfriend found her body hanging from a branch at the foot of a cliff before the police arrived. He carried her out and found several stab wounds on her back, indicating that she had suffered a lot before she died.
The doctor confirmed that she died from significant blood loss. The family believes that the employer killed her for her valuables as the police found Sudthida’s gold in the employer’s room and a thorough investigation is still pending.
According to Taiwan media Liberty Times, the police apprehended the suspect, surnamed Lin at her residence in Zhongzheng District, Keelung City, around 3 p.m. on May 12. They gathered evidence of her involvement in the crime and asked the court for Lin’s detention, citing the risk of destroying evidence and fleeing.
Mr. Amnat Phalapleewan, Director of the Division of Protection and Assistance for Thai Nationals Abroad, Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated on May 14 that since this case is a murder, it is necessary to wait for the autopsy results to be completed first.
After that, the Thai Trade and Economic Office in Taipei will provide advice to the relatives regarding the management of the body. As for the investigation of the case, it will proceed according to Taiwan’s domestic laws. The Thai side is similarly waiting for Taiwan to report on the progress.
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