NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • Herald NOW
    • All Herald NOW
    • Ryan Bridge TODAY
    • Herald NOW Business
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Herald NOW Business
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverASB Investment HubInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • Generate wealth weekly
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Gisborne
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Thai sex worker trial: 'I was bloody stupid,' victim of alleged fraud tells court

Belinda Feek
Belinda Feek
Open Justice multimedia journalist, Waikato·NZ Herald·
8 Feb, 2022 04:03 AM4 mins to read
‌

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
The first of three complainants gave evidence this afternoon, claiming he had $219,700 defrauded from him over a three month period.

The first of three complainants gave evidence this afternoon, claiming he had $219,700 defrauded from him over a three month period.

An elderly Waikato man says he felt "bloody stupid" after allegedly being defrauded of nearly $220,000 by two Thai sex workers.

The man, in his 90s, says it wasn't until one of his daughters heard him on the phone that he had an inkling that Nualpan Coxon, 67, and Pornthip Phonkoed, 63, were ripping him off.

The complainant, who has name suppression, gave evidence via audio visual link this afternoon on the first day of Coxon and Phonkoed's trial in the Hamilton District Court.

The accused, both of Auckland, are on trial fighting six charges of obtaining by deception and one of blackmail after allegedly using a naked photo of one them to hand over money after he initially refused.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Two of the three complainants met the accused after responding to newspaper advertisements selling massages.

Asked by crown prosecutor Rebecca Mann about whether there were any sexual exchanges during the massages, Mr C said, "yes, it ends up with what they call a happy ending".

Mr C is one of three complainants who the crown say was defrauded of around $253,000 over two separate periods in 2015 and again between December 2017 and February 2018.

The first witness, Mr C, a Waikato man aged in his 90s, told the court he saw an advertisement for a massage in a local newspaper for $7.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He said he was keen to get a massage as he had been having issues with his legs.

"She then massaged me... that was what I was out looking for."

Asked by crown prosecutor Rebecca Mann if it happened on more than one occasion, Mr C, said he "got to know the lady" and "she came back several times".

"We became quite good friends and what-have-you and that was very wonderful."

It had been six years since he'd seen "Nikki", or Phonkoed, so he couldn't now describe what she looked like, and despite being told initially they were Japanese, he discovered that wasn't true.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Things happened that she wasn't actually Japanese ... it became known that she was a Thailand lady," he said.

There were lots of conversations before she introduced her friend, "Nancy", or Coxon.

Asked by Mann why he paid the women, Mr C responded, "well, I was bloody stupid".

Withdrawals or spending at Sky City Casino had never been discussed with him, he said.

"There has been never any conversation about gambling ... or going to Sky City or anything. That's a negative."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Instead, he'd been told that Phonkoed had a house in Thailand she was trying to sell and had expected to get around $138,000. However, they kept coming across issues that would require him having to pay them more money.

He also said the money wasn't to be used for dining out but he did notice one of the accused turned up at his house in some "nice clothes" and he figured that she might have used his money for that.

Mr C claims that $219,700 of his life savings was defrauded from him between December 2017 and February 2018.

Defence counsel Russell Boot, for Phonkoed and Rob Quin, for Coxon, will cross examine Mr C tomorrow.

Earlier, Mann said the offending periods spanned over two separate periods between August 2015 and November 2015 and August 2017 and February 2018, the pair allegedly defrauded the three male complainants - who have interim name suppression - of around $253,600.

The accused, both of Auckland, met two of the men after they responded to massage advertisements in the newspaper, and met the other in a retail shop.

These women came into the lives of some elderly men who they became close to. They then traded on this relationship, of sorts, to obtain money from them, by deceiving them about what they were going to do with the money and claiming they were going to repay it.

"All in all they defrauded these men of well in excess of $200,000."

Complainant A lost about $20,000, Mr B lost $13,900 while Mr C allegedly had $219,700 defrauded from him.

The trial is being overseen by Judge Stephen Clark and is set down for the week.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save
    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

New Tongariro Great Walk hut on track, but summer route no longer full circuit

18 May 02:00 AM
New Zealand

8000 runners, records and a sprint finish: Pull of Hawke's Bay Marathon growing

18 May 01:42 AM
New Zealand
|Updated

Nazi 'fanatic' was planning 'mass casualty' event days after mosque attacks, coroner hears

18 May 01:40 AM

Sponsored

From boring to banger: Rapper turns Kiwis’ mortgage misery into music

17 May 12:00 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

New Tongariro Great Walk hut on track, but summer route no longer full circuit
New Zealand

New Tongariro Great Walk hut on track, but summer route no longer full circuit

The Tongariro Northern Circuit will run as an arc, not a full loop, this summer.

18 May 02:00 AM
8000 runners, records and a sprint finish: Pull of Hawke's Bay Marathon growing
New Zealand

8000 runners, records and a sprint finish: Pull of Hawke's Bay Marathon growing

18 May 01:42 AM
Nazi 'fanatic' was planning 'mass casualty' event days after mosque attacks, coroner hears
New Zealand
|Updated

Nazi 'fanatic' was planning 'mass casualty' event days after mosque attacks, coroner hears

18 May 01:40 AM


From boring to banger: Rapper turns Kiwis’ mortgage misery into music
Sponsored

From boring to banger: Rapper turns Kiwis’ mortgage misery into music

17 May 12:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • NZME Digital Performance Marketing
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2026 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP