Deviantly deceived

Living life as a “woman of the second kind” is bound to hone a one’s skills of impersonation. To make the act convincing, many effeminate men walk, talk and act like a lady to fill their preferred gender role. After being fired from his job as an assistant nurse at Khon Kaen Central Hospital for pilfering medical equipment, aging ladyboy Somsap Buraphat, 58, decided to put his impersonation skills to the test… by deceiving monks, drugging them and then making off with their possessions. Somsap’s story came to light after the 68-year-old Deputy Abbot of Wat Waeluwan Forest in Udon Thani province reported to police December 18 that he had been robbed by a such a “woman”, who claimed to be a doctor. The crafty katoey, as such “women” are called in the Kingdom, struck up a conversation with the abbot. When he had won the Deputy Abbot’s trust, the fake doc offered to give him a health-boosting injection. However, he injected the hapless clergyman with a tranquilizer, waited for him to lose consciousness and then made off with 4,000 baht the Deputy Abbot had in his shoulder bag. By noon the following day, police had identified the suspect and arrested Somsap in his house in Phon Thon District, Roi-Et. They also seized tranquilizer, high blood pressure medicine, antiseptic, vitamin tablets and medical equipment as evidence. Somsap later confessed to police, telling them how after he was fired from the hospital he used his medical experience to trick monks throughout Isarn. He would go to a wat and start a conversation, and, after a little while, would say to the monk that he looked a little sickly. He would then reveal that he was actually a doctor and, luckily for the monk, Somsap had just the miracle cure the monk needed to get him back to full health. He would then persuade his victim to take him back to his cell where he would tranquilize him before making off with his possessions. Why Somsap chose to target only monks was not revealed.