Polygamy is illegal in Thailand, but that didn’t stop a modern-day Casanova from taking a whopping 120 wives and having 28 children with them. What’s even more unusual is that the women all know about each other and are fine with the arrangement.
Tambon Prasert, the head of Phromnee district, in Thailand’s Nakorn Nayok province, some 90 km from Bangkok, was recently forced to admit that he had illegally taken over 100 wives, after reporters were tipped off about it by anonymous sources.
The 58-year-old local politician and owner of a successful construction business, recently welcomed members of the media into his home to shed some light on his family life, after they traveled to Phromnee to confirm their leads.
Asked if it was true that he had more than 100 wives all across the country, Prasert matter-of-factly said “I have 120 wives and 28 sons and daughters”.
But one doesn’t reach that impressive number of wives in just a few years. Prasert told reporters that he started very young, when he was just 17 years old.
“My first marriage was when I was 17,” he recounted. “My first wife was one or two years younger than me and we had three children. After that I had a string of others. Most of them were young women and they were all under 20. I don’t like older ones – they argue too much”.
As he matured and opened his construction business, Tambon Prasert developed a very unusual habit – he would take a wife in every place he built a house. “I am a building contractor, wherever I built a house I got a wife there,” he told Daily News. “I love them all – and they all love me.”
Whatever you may think of Prasert, he is a gentleman. Every time he took a new wife, he always informed her that he already had several, and would also tell the others that he planned to get married again. 22 of his wife live near his home in Phromnee district, while the others are based all around Thailand.
“I would say ‘I have a new wife OK’ – no one had a problem with that. They could all accept the situation and there were never any arguments,” the Thai polygamist said. “I respect them all. In every case I asked their parents for permission to wed according to customs and traditions. All were properly wed at organized ceremonies.”
Taking care of 120 wives and 28 children has never been a problem for Mr. Prasert, who has always provided his many families with everything they needed, even building houses for the wives that didn’t have one. “If they didn’t have their own house I would get them some land and sort everything out for them so everyone was happy,” he told reporters.
Interestingly, Tambon Prasert’s newest wife, 27-year-old Nam Fon, was right by his side during his interview with Thai media and didn’t seemed at all shocked by his revelations. I guess he really does let his new wives know what they are getting into.
It’s not yet clear if this real-life Casanova faces any legal consequences for practicing polygamy.