Lake Palmer’s Story

 

 

Lake Palmer is probably one of the most well-known Farangs to have entered a relationship with a Thai. He is famous because he was a main feature on a documentary by Louis Theroux – one of the most well-known and popular documentary makers.

 

 

Lake Palmer has come to Bangkok to find himself a Thai wife through the marriage agency, Thai Professional. In this clip it is obvious that Louis Theroux is almost smacking his lips as he discover that he has found a colourful character for his documentary. There is a slight satirical glint in Theroux’s eye as he does a joint Elvis serenade with Lake Palmer, but it is entertaining and you can also sense that Louis actually likes Lake.

 

 

As Louis and Lake venture down to the marriage agency it is entertaining to see the interaction of the 3 guys – Louis, Lake and the marriage agency guy, Lawrence Lynch. Lake undergoes a crash course in Thai etiquette to make him ready for his speed-courting.

 

 

When Lake meets his dates he briskly ignores all instructions and comes on far too strongly for a reserved and well-intentioned Thai lady.

 

 

Louis is called back to hear the surprising news that Lake got married to one of his later dates. Louis goes to visit the newly-weds in their honeymoon retreat.

 

 

So did they live happily ever after . . .  ?

 

 

The Lake Palmer story (unfortunately) did not end there. In a Sunday mail article we hear how his Thai marriage turned into an ordeal as his wife failed to get a UK visa and instead chose to marry a man from Belgium.

 

LAKE'S STORY

People will think I'm a silly old man but I was lonely

LAKE PALMER can hardly bear to watch Fred and Orchid.

The 60-year-old admits he was taken for a fool by an Asian beauty he married only three days after they met.

She strung him along for eight months before dumping him for another rich European man, leaving him £12,000 in debt.

Now Lake spends his days in bed, suffering from depression.

A former Army captain who served in the Borders, he watches Coronation Street with a growing sense of fear and dread for a character he has come to empathise with.

'The plotline has brought it all back to me,' he said.

'I don't know if they will manage to fool poor old Fred but it certainly looks like it.

'I want to shout at the TV and tell him to use his head not his heart.

'I know he's only a soap character but what's happening to him just now is really affecting me.'

Lake married Panom Yeesoon nicknamed Jad in a Buddhist ceremony in Thailand four years ago.

He was convinced he had found a woman who would love and care for him for the rest of his life.

When he returned home, he bombarded her with gifts, money and love letters. But eight months later, after failing to get a visa to come to Britain, she dumped him for someone else.

Lake said: 'I know people will say I'm a silly old man but I am very lonely. Growing old on your own is frightening.

'I was just looking for someone who would give me companionship in my twilight years a bit like Fred.'

A former offshore gas rig worker, Lake was forced to retire in 2000 due to ill health. He had been married twice before but neither relationship had lasted more than five years.

He decided to seek a Thai bride through an introduction agency. It cost him £1385 and a further £800 to get to Bangkok, where he met Jad. She was 45 but looked much younger.

'She had a regal quality,' he said. 'She was slim and very well-dressed. I was swept off my feet.'

On their second day together, he proposed. They married the following day in a hastily-arranged Buddhist ceremony. Luckily for him, Lake had forgotten his decree absolute and couldn't get the paperwork together for a legally-binding ceremony. So, what he went through was only a blessing.

He slept with Jad on their wedding night and spent five more romantic days with her, before taking his pre-booked flight home.

She pledged to follow him as soon as her visa came through. It was August 2000 and Lake thought they'd be together by Christmas.

From his home in Great Yarmouth, he ran up a telephone bill of £1800 and sent her £1500 and lavish gifts.

But she was refused a visa. It turned out she was still legally married to another Englishman.

Ever hopeful, Lake continued to correspond and send money until April 2001, when she told him in a telephone call she had met a Belgian man and didn't want to know him any more.

He said: 'I cried for six weeks and I've lost all my confidence. I only have my Army pension to live on. I think that's why she didn't want me.

'I've had a nervous breakdown and I'm still desperately lonely.'

 

 

This article is quite biased. We do not hear the Thai woman’s story. And considering the brevity of Lake’s and Jad’s courtship it is hardly surprising that she might have opted for another man after the visa disappointment. Not really fair to call it a “marriage scam”.