Phuket wife grieves death of Bangkok bomb victim

PHUKET: Tippayao Choochan, the grief-stricken wife of the Phuket taxi driver who died in the Bangkok bombing (story here), spoke with reporters this morning.

“This was the fourth time Prakong attended the protests in Bangkok. Every time Suthep called for people to come, he joined them,” Mrs Tippayao said. “My husband desperately wanted the right things for the political system in Thailand.”

Mrs Tippayao recounted asking her husband many times why he joined the protests.

“He always repeated that we had to win; we had to change the political system. If we didn’t, Thailand would be in trouble,” she said.

“This last time, he told me that if they didn’t win, he would not come home.”

Mr Prakong, the families breadwinner, left behind three children that Mrs Tippayao will now need to support without him.

“I work as a seamstress in Patong. I don’t know how we are going to make ends meet financially now that he is gone,” she said.

People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) leader Suthep Thaugsuban will be helping the family organize ceremonies for Mr Prakong. The first ceremony will be in Bangkok, and the second will be held in Phuket, Mrs Thippayao explained.

— Kom Chad Luek