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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Laura Sharman

Daughter feared going to jail after parents sued her for violating a bizarre law

A distressed daughter feared going to prison when her parents sued her for violating a strange law.

The unidentified woman, 31, claimed her mum and dad were furious when she refused to give them 60,000 baht, worth £1,400, to open up a business in their village in northeast Thailand.

She currently lives in Bangkok with her husband, but despite the distance, she said the old couple regularly pressured her to send money for their needs.

Now, she has pleaded for legal advice in a public forum about her situation after the parents began litigation for violating a bizarre Thai law.

It states that children are required to give financial support to their parents in the country.

The woman is still looking for a lawyer to defend her from the ambiguous Thai law provision under Civil Law Section 1563 that states: "Children are bound to maintain their parents."

The woman lives in Bangkok but still faces financial pressure from her parents in northeast Thailand (Getty Images/Flickr Open)

It adds that children are obliged to take care of their parents, but this should only be when the parents are old, sick and unable to be self-reliant.

If found guilty, the daughter may face jail time and a fine.

Writing in her post, she said: "After I was born, they left me with my grandparents.

"They never sent child support, but now they are suing me. I don't know who else to consult."

She added that the couple never had anything to do with her growing up, but when she found a high-paying job, the parents suddenly wanted to be part of her life.

The woman told how she was raised by her grandparents who have passed away (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

She said: "My grandma sold snacks to raise me while my grandpa caught fish, planted on farms, and weaved baskets.

"I remember my grandmother asking my parents for help to send me to university, and they refused to.

"They just told me education was pointless and that I would get a husband and settle anyway."

Disappointed by her parents' response, the woman worked in a factory and sent herself to college before moving to Bangkok to find work.

She found excuses to work overtime to stay in the capital during different Thai festivals to avoid meeting her parents.

Lumphini Park and the downtown Bangkok City Skyline (Getty Images)

"Only after a few years of working in the city did my grandparents die," she said.

"My parents then moved back to the very home I lived in because they had nowhere else to go.

"I barely went back to the province because I feel like there is nothing for me to go back to.

"Whenever I talk to my mother and father, they always ask for money and fight. They asked me to send a monthly allowance."

Aside from the support money, the woman claimed they began to take over her grandparents' household.

She said: "They gave my bedroom to my younger brother and took over the house as if it was theirs.

"They started a small business at home, and when the business wasn't working out, they asked me for 60,000 THB."

The Thai woman refused to fulfil her parents' demand and was met with a horrible threat from her parents.

"They told me they will sue me for refusing to take care of them financially because they can't take care of themselves.

"They told me that I owed them a lot. I'm afraid I will lose the case if I fight back."

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