Chinese man arrested for pushing pregnant wife off cliff

Park rangers help pregnant Chinese tourist Wang Nan, 32, after her 34-metre fall from a cliff at the Pha Taem National Park in Kong Chiam district, Ubon Ratchathani, on June 9. (Photo supplied)

UBON RATCHATHANI: A Chinese man, 33, was arrested for allegedly trying to kill his three-months pregnant Chinese wife by pushing her off a famous cliff, Pha Team, in Kong Chiam district on June 9.

Local police said they apprehended the suspect, Yu Xiaodong, after his 32-year-old wife, Wang Nan, told them that her husband had attempted to murder her.

The woman told police she had been unable to tell her story earlier because her husband stayed by her side while she was receiving treatment for her serious injuries in hospital. He threatened to kill her if she exposed the attempted murder, she said, so they initially told police she passed out and fell.

The fall occurred on the morning of June 9 when a Thai tourist found Ms Wang lying severely injured on a trail in Pha Team National Park. She had tumbled 34 metres from the clifftop, but her fall was broken by trees. She suffered fractures in her left thigh, left arm, left collar bone, hip bone and knees. Her foetus miraculously survived.

Police arrested Mr Yu at Sapphasitthiprasong Hospital in Muang district when he visited his wife there on Monday.

The couple are from the Chinese province of Jiangsu and have been in Thailand for three years, reportedly making their living from trade with their homeland.

Police said the man was actually jobless and his family of origin was debt-ridden. The wife was well-to-do but was not willing to fully clear his debts, and police suspected that money was the motive for the attempted murder.