Miss Chicky gets herself fingered

PATONG: It is well-known that women, in general, spend more money than men in the effort to keep themselves attractive. But for men trying to pass themselves off as women, expenses are greater still. In the case of one Thai post-op ladyboy, the costs of ongoing upkeep proved so great that he turned to a life of crime. At 10 am on February 3, four police officers led by Pol Maj Serm Khwan-nimitr, head of the Kathu Police Crime Investigations Unit, knocked at the door of 112/1 Nanai Rd, home of 29-year-old katoey Kritsakorn “Saow Gai” Thai-on. With the authorities were Sijitra Khunthep, a 20-year-old employee of the Marine Hotel, and hotel guest Phanit Sasipongpreecha, 35, from Bangkok. The unfortunate hotel guest was robbed the night before. Some 5,000 baht in cash, three bank books, a gold watch worth 20,000 baht, cosmetics, a blouse and a briefcase containing unspecified “important documents” were all missing from her room. The pair identified suspect Saow Gai – whose name means “Miss Chicky” and tends to imply she is a character of negotiable affection – as having been a guest the night before in the Marine Hotel’s room 25, next door to K. Phanit’s room. The police had no need to search Saow Gai’s home to uncover the missing goods, as the victim’s bankbooks, briefcase and watch were quickly spotted. The transgender thief confessed immediately to the theft, telling police it was just one in a string he had committed in the effort to transform herself into a beautiful woman and keep it that way. One of her favorite crimes, besides outright thievery, she said, was conning tourists. This had allowed her to have 50,000 baht worth of breast implants done in Phuket, and gender reassignment surgery, costing 200,000 baht, done in Yala, thus transforming herself into a “complete woman”. Saow Gai continued down the path to easy money to pay for medical maintenance and checkups, as well as to pay legal costs relating to previous crimes she had been charged with.