Daughter-in-Law of Former Lao PM Denies Ties to Drug Dealer Arrested in Thailand

The daughter-in-law of former Lao prime minister Thongsing Thammavong distanced herself on Tuesday from rumored ties to a Lao drug dealer arrested last week in Thailand, saying that a photo showing her and Thammavong’s son together with crime boss Xaysana Keopimpha was taken “by accident.”

The photo, which has circulated widely on Facebook pages following Xaysana’s Jan. 19 arrest, shows only a casual social connection among the three, Sommaly Thammavong told RFA’s Lao Service.

“We have not done any business with him, and we didn’t know what he was involved in,” Thammavong said.

“We met him by accident and had photos taken occasionally at parties or at weddings,” Thammavong, the wife of the former prime minister’s son Dethsongkam Thammavong, said.

“We each earn our living in different ways.”

Many in Laos suspect closer connections between Xaysana, the leader of a major methamphetamines distribution network in the ASEAN region, and the Thammavongs, though, a legal expert living in Laos told RFA.

“The photo shows that they are close friends, and the public believes they have close ties,” RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Is it really possible that they knew nothing about Xaysana’s background or the nature of his work before they allowed themselves to be photographed with him?,” he asked.

“[Xaysana] was arrested in Thailand because the police there know that he is protected in Laos by powerful political figures, and that law enforcement in the country is weak.”

Full story: rfa.org

Reported by Manichanh Phimpachanh and Ounkeo Souksavanh for RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Ounkeo Souksavanh and Somnet Inthapannha. Written in English by Richard Finney.