They say two’s a company, three’s a crowd. But this Thai man with many wives has taken it a notch further with four wives.
Thailand has banned polygamy and monogamy since 1935.
This means only his first marriage to Waraphon Pruksawan is legal. But all his other wives and children have taken his surname, Pruksawan, too.
Being honest is key for man with many wives
Pruksawan’s first wife says the family loves one another and she’s proud of him | Source: Facebook – Waraphon Pruksawan
His first wife says there’s nothing to worry, as she believes that it’s better for him to be honest about all his relationships, rather than cheating on her without her knowledge. Before he gets a new wife, he has to ask for her permission first.
She’s happy because they wed having gone through a lot together in their lives. She maintains that the entire family loves one another and that she’s proud of Pruksawan.
He’s not the only one
There’s plenty of polygamy cases around our shores.
Manop Nuttayothin has two wives and nine children (three from his deceased first wife | Source: Facebook – วริศรา ป๊อกศรีจันทร์
Take this case of Manop Nuttayothin and his two wives. The man (whose first wife passed away) has nine children, three from each wife. Their story of a happy and harmonious relationship was interviewed on live Thai TV.
Also in Thailand, Tambon Prasert, head of the Phromnee district (some 90km away from Bangkok) admitted to taking 120 “wives” and fathering 28 children with them. The 58 year old’s wives come from all around the country, and claims to provide his multiple families with all their necessities. All the wives apparently know and allows this too.
And across the border, Malaysia’s Syariah courts have approve 8,088 applications for polygamy from Muslim men between 2010 and 2016. This is still an uncommon practice in a country where about 61% of the 31.62 million Malaysians are Muslims.
In Indonesia, there was furore over “AyoPoligami”, an app developed last year to help married Muslim men look for another wife. While polygamy is legal, it’s mostly frowned upon. Indonesian courts will only allow men to take another wife if the first wife is ill, disabled or unable to bear children.
Polygamy in Singapore
Unless you’re a Muslim, polygamy is banned in Singapore. Bigamy, the act of marrying someone else while still being married, is also illegal.
A Muslim man under Syariah Law must also fulfil the following:
- Permission from all the current wives.
- Must be able to care for the financial, physical and emotional well-being of all the wives.
- Has a good marriage with his current wives, cannot be marrying someone new because the current marriage is not okay.
- The new marriage provides benefits that the current marriage doesn’t provide (love doesn’t count but children might.)
Source: Mothership, World of Buzz, The Express Tribune, Today Online, The Straits Times
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