Family deceased Richard Ruijgrok (former Thai consul general) does not want to pay the bill for a hospital in Bangkok
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The death in Nonthaburi of 66-year-old Richard Ruijgrok (former consul-general in the Netherlands) has caused quite a stir in Thailand. Channel 7 spent more than half an hour on it yesterday afternoon, in particular on the unpaid bill of 400.000 baht (almost 11.000 euros) from the Nontawes hospital in Nonthaburi (near Bangkok).
Ruijgrok reported to his Thai girlfriend in Bangkok at the end of May with lung complaints and a fever. This brought the Amsterdam former consul with her sister to the hospital. That demanded 100.000 baht deposit, but only 60.000 was paid through the sister's credit card. Ruijrok asked his girlfriend to contact his family in the Netherlands, in particular his ex-wife and children. According to him, money played no role in the family. The family is said to have come to Bangkok on June 2 in a private plane. Richard passed away on June 3.
The Thai girlfriend now complains on television that the family was then only interested in a video and photos of the remains and in the death certificate. The girlfriend states that the family did not sign anything and left with the northern sun, leaving behind the hefty bill. This is still increasing every day, because Ruijgrok's remains are in a cold store of the hospital until the bill has been paid and preparations can be made for the cremation.
The girlfriend has now turned to the Dutch embassy, but the embassy has informed her that it is not possible to pay hospital bills. On the advice of the embassy, the girlfriend has now turned to the police, as can be seen in the news report from channel 7. The Thai internet is full of speculation about the possible outcome and photos of a moribund Ruijgrok can be seen.
And in the Netherlands, Richard Ruijgrok was not very popular with the consulate in Amsterdam either.
The visa applications went very smoothly because of him. He came across as quite arrogant.
I worked at the Consulate for many years. First in the Lairessestraat and later on the Herengracht. It was always doom and gloom when it came to paying bills. 6x closed by KPN due to unpaid telephone bills. Cleaners who stopped coming because they weren't paid so I cleaned the Consulate myself after working hours. Been out of reach for days because Mr. Ruijgrok sometimes pocketed 4.000 euros per day in visa income. And that for weeks in a row. It has always surprised me that nothing was paid to the Embassy. I have never received my salary on time. Not to mention all the lawsuits where huge amounts of money were transferred to lawyers. About advance on inheritances. Colleagues were summarily fired by his assistant. For no reason. As a result, there was always a shortage of staff, but because I was stamping visas in passports every evening until 23.00 p.m. (at home) because I was busy with his private affairs for a large part of the day, so that every application could be realized within three days. When I was given signing authority, I made people wait for an hour and then got it right away. He didn't care if he just got his money. When I got burnt out because of all the work pressure and stress, he treated me incredibly badly and he lost the lawsuit he filed against me. But he lost every court case. The prosecutor made mincemeat of him. Soon in my absence, the keymaker was sitting in my seat in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts talking to people. Rude and ill-mannered I heard from people who applied for a visa. I won't go into details but I understand why his ex doesn't want to pay the hospital bills.
This story will leave you speechless.
The consul was actually not a consul at all, but a Charlatan.
That this never got through to the Thai embassy in The Hague remains a mystery, or they have been sleeping there.
If this was the same man who worked at the consulate on Herengracht, I understand. Never seen such an unkind dictator. When the consulate was still in the Laressestraat, it was a pleasure to apply for your visa. That changed for me when it moved to Herengracht.
Dear Yvonne,
I knew Richard much better than you and despite perhaps his financial problems that you speak of, Richard was not a bad man and certainly not a bad employer.
Or do you forget the tickets to the concert hall or the dinners that Richard always paid for and your cleaning work that you are talking about that has always been paid for by Richard.
I think it's a bit easy of you now that he unfortunately passed away to give your opinion now.
All I can say is that I lost a true friend in Richard, a friend I could rely on who was loyal and above all a kind and funny man.
I'm going to miss him dearly and before you might say yes I'm willing to pay the expenses so that Richard gets a dignified farewell here
Louis van der Vrede
I dealt with him quite a bit about 30 years ago in the Netherlands Thai Chamber of Commerce, and met him regularly in Amsterdam and Bangkok when I had my factory in Thailand.
Always found him to be an exceptionally nice man to work with and talk to. Had good relations with the Thai government, I think his father was ambassador to Thailand a long time ago.
Certainly not an arrogant ball or anything. Sad that it ended like this
Is this about that older man who was responsible for handing out the visas for Thailand at least in June 2019 at the consulate on Lairessestraat? Or is this about someone else?
I can't imagine that someone who had such a position was not properly insured, but that can of course be the case. Perhaps there is more going on and it will all become clear later…..
He had no insurance. Lived in hotels because he did not pay the rent of properties where he stayed. And also didn't pay hotel bills and then blamed me on the management of the hotel that his secretary forgot to pay. I wasn't his secretary at all. But he thought he could always get away with his lies. But at some point that didn't work anymore. Medical expenses and dental treatments were paid from the visa application jar.
No health insurance, then badly arranged unless there is quite a bit of money in the bank to pay for hospitalization. And why the embassy advises to go to the police is a big mystery to me because it has zero value and no consequences. The girlfriend has incurred expenses just like the hospital, they can inform the heirs that there are debts that need to be settled in the inheritance, I think this is the way to go if it concerns a resident of the Netherlands. And yes pointing to the family, ex or children is not ok because people do not know how the relationship was and whether they are inherited or whether they were in disagreement or not or whether there were more relationships, etc. Mrs. the girlfriend must with all due respect do not complain in the media but let yourself be better informed or tell the whole story with all the details, but that is not desirable. Oh yes and one more thing; she says she is the girlfriend but when it comes to paying in this case the ex or children can pay for it, well I already know enough.
A story with many hooks, eyes and holes!
According to Ruijrok, money played no role in the family. But sir couldn't show a 100k deposit himself? And he was under 70 years old, so health insurance shouldn't normally be too much of a problem unless Ruijgrok (or Ruigrok?) already had quite a medical history.
Letting the ex pay for the costs doesn't seem like a smart maneuver to me.
But it seems that it should not cost too much for the Dutch relatives. And that they especially wanted to make sure that Mr. had died, probably because of a possible inheritance..
Richard Ruijgrok, Honorary Thai Consul
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHc0ipoDgEo
It is premature to write that it should not cost too much for those from the Netherlands who came over. Who knows, nothing was announced by the hospital because girlfriend made the down payment and people (hospital) assumed that she paid the bill. Or does the gentleman have money in the bank and wait for the ex and children to see how it goes further, because if he was a resident of Thailand, his Thai possessions fall under Thai inheritance law and visitors can reason that it should be paid from that. And maybe it is the ex and children but not heirs, that is possible according to Thai law. And so there is more to tell, but much is unclear, the death was just a week ago and then immediately going to the media is not correct.
It does indicate for this and that that a partner in Thailand should have access to financial resources and perhaps an extra credit card so that in case of unforeseen matters such as an urgent medical reason or death, the partner can first pay the bill. The fact that it was decided to visit a private hospital means that there may have been insurance, didn't the girlfriend find this out?, or that Mr. Ruijgrok had enough money to pay these kinds of bills himself; then the bill is for the heirs ( girlfriend ?) who should first advance themselves. It seems to me that if you are wealthy or have some money in the bank that you have arranged a will, it costs a baht or 5000 to 10.000 and that is not much money to have something properly arranged.
Dear,
You have good points… Anyway, the family from the Netherlands did fly to Thailand. What did that cost? That is the hospital bill a small amount.
It seems to me that the girlfriend has provided the necessary information to the Ned. family? But to finish with your last point;
This shows how important a will can be.
I suspect that the NL family was mainly interested in the death certificate in order to be able to cash in with it in NL…
Yes, the family flew from the Netherlands, out of respect for him you can assume. Maybe he had been with his girlfriend for 30 years, maybe once again the ex is the girlfriend's predecessor, who knows, maybe the gentleman lived independently for thirty years, who knows. Try it yourself to saddle an ex with costs that she should contribute to, it should not be that the ex pays for costs, this should be something for the girlfriend in a relationship. If she has no money, she could discuss this with the ex and children and not complain to the media within a week. First take the reasonable path, consult. Perhaps there is a will in which she is mentioned, etc.
As consul-general, Mr. Ruijgrok had offered a lot of help to Hans Taverne's (elderly) mother, who lived in Thailand and died there. He did everything that was possible for him.
That's why he was a household name for me.
What I often see is that Dutch families of Dutch people living in (far) foreign countries do not like their family member in a country that is foreign to them. The ones left behind (in this case the Thai wife) apparently cannot and should not count on support from that distant Netherlands. Distressing.
Sorry for the passing of Richard Ruijgrok.
He helped me very well 35 years ago.
World strange story.
Deposit?
No insurance like that?
No money problems in the home country?
Private plane?
Check death by family and leave for the Netherlands again?
I'm curious what's going on.
The article raises more questions than it answers.
And that is not surprising. It mainly concerns private matters and details that really have nothing to do with anyone: insurance, inheritance, will, being officially married or not (for Dutch and/or Thai law), personal relationships with ex-wife and children.
If the late Mr. Ruigrok worked at the Thai Embassy as Consul General at the Thai Consulate in Amsterdam, then he must certainly have an income or pension from the Thai government. I therefore advise his girlfriend to apply to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs after asking about the state of affairs. In any case, other people's books are dark to read.
Mr. Ruigrok was not a Thai government official but only an honorary consul with Dutch nationality and this is an unpaid job that business men like to do to raise their profile/ if he had acquired Thai nationality he could count on better treatment here.
Dear Ferdi, a Consul General is a paid position
An HC or Honorary Consul is an unpaid position with very few powers
I know this from experience.
Nice family or not sometimes, have money to spend for flying a private plane.
But paying a bill of 4 tons in bath for hospital is too much.
Jan Beute.
Then we come back to insurance, we don't know what kind of visa he came here on.
If it is on a retirement visa, they should change the law so that everyone who enters on such an annual visa has a fixed amount on his account, which can then be used for hospital costs.
For single people this is already, 800k
If you can prove that you have more than 65k a month, it does not mean that you can or want to pay the hospital bill because then they still have nothing.
Then you have the illegal offices that do not charge anything and provide you with a visa for a certain amount, let the government do something about this first.
What a sad story. The man died and whatever we think of it, he's not coming back with it.
But what now? Suppose a girlfriend does not have a red sticker and they are not married, so you cannot force her. And suppose the family in NL pays nothing. What is the next step then?
There are laws in Thailand about burial/cremation and the day will come when the remains MUST be buried. That, as far as I know, then regulates the municipality in which Mr. died.
Will the hospital be left with the bill? I'm afraid so. Then the next farang who reports there is the victim: 'pay first'….. And then the good community can shout 'shame' again….
Yes,
It's often only a few who mess it up for the rest.
and see more and more often that those in the world are better off,
Family does not have to pay for that, he should have taken care of it himself. Typical leeches who want money from family
If he left behind a large inheritance and a lot of money, then it was not worth news, but a great celebration. Now that this is not the case, it becomes news. So it's not always a party if you hit the wrong Farang...
A lot of hassle because of the Thai girlfriend's outburst. Because he fishes behind the net, after all, not married. Only a 'spouse' -wife in this case- can inherit. Also one or more ex-spouse(s), if stated in a will. If the R. family had enough money, they of course came to see if brother really died, and then to have his possible Dutch will opened with the necessary proof at a Dutch notary, or to secure his possessions and money. Rich people like to sit on a pot of gold. Subsequently, the notary will pay the Thai hospital and other bills. All takes a while. Girlfriend can claim a refund of the paid advance at the notary.
In Thailand, by the way, a lawyer will be added by the government one of these days, who will check whether a Thai will has been deposited with the Amphoe, and if so, what the content is. The girlfriend would do well to inquire with the lawyer to be appointed whether she is mentioned in a Thai will. The lawyer will also map and monetize movable and immovable property. Outstanding bills can also be paid from those proceeds. If no will, property or money is current in Thailand, the lawyer in the Netherlands will check who settles what and where Ruijgrok's estate. Are we a year further. Look, that R. with his 66 years of course had the thought of enjoying his retirement in Thailand for many more years and forgot to arrange a number of things. RIP. A good message to all who think they can wait to think about how to handle the outcome. It's not nice to leave others with the hassle. It remains that the current girlfriend has to wait until 'secundum legem' and 'de jure' according to Thai law still have something left for her. I do not think so. Secundum already indicates that it is not the first party.
Yes miss the girlfriend. A bit un-Thai to seek publicity, so quickly put out the dirty laundry instead of consulting with the family, ask the Dutch for advice on what to do, ask a mediator to help or a translator. Maybe money is not a problem, but the attitude, attitude, language, cultural differences, lack of clarity about the settlement, panic in the first days about how to proceed, that's why I say un-Thai this wailing. As an older person you should keep both feet on the ground and perhaps that is also the reason that the Dutch family may think that they should solve it themselves.
Dear,
If the family takes to the stroller fairly quickly, then there is not much to discuss. I think…
Best regards,
Apart from this case
I have not yet seen a single hospital where when you enter someone says; ” look your bill will be that much ”
However, I agree that sometimes (if possible and not always) they give you a target price
I suppose taking into account the number of inhabitants in Thailand that it is not the first time after a treatment or whatever someone says “look I had taken this amount into account and now I get a higher final bill, I cannot afford this ”
What did they propose or do? A payment plan? It's hard to say take a lawyer. Wonder who does what in such a case.
Is the statement:
In the case of a Thai he has nothing so we leave it that way, in the case of an alien look we pull out all the stops but we want to see money
I wonder why no one has yet come up with the idea of also showing a copy of your bank book when entering a hospital, as immigration also asks for a year extension
The hospital and the sister-in-law can recover their claim from the estate as a creditor.
They call a civil-law notary in the Netherlands and present a copy of the passport and death certificate with the question: which civil-law notary is handling this testament (heirs call in a civil-law notary who calls the central register of wills in The Hague to request the last will).
I can also arrange this for them. If they provide me with a copy of their passport plus death certificate plus their email, I will help them.
It is not a choice to get all kinds of corpses out of the closet after death.
[email protected]
The article mentions a friend and her sister who took R. to the hospital. At his request, family was called, especially ex and children. Not a word is said about a sister-in-law. It is inappropriate to meddle in family matters in such matters. Not only in the Netherlands, but also in Thailand, settlement of an estate is regulated by law. The hospital will request a lawyer to settle the case one of these days. Perhaps the family wants to bring the remains to the Netherlands? Do you know much. Perhaps there is a will in the Netherlands and an executor is appointed? Etc. There could be so many things going on that we don't know about. The article is only about the girlfriend complaining that the family does not want to pay the hospital bill, while that girlfriend has advanced 60K ThB. Of course it is not nice of that family that they suddenly left. Girlfriend will have to ask the Thai lawyer to make contact with the notary office that will take care of the estate in due course. But will she get her money back? And maybe she's not all about that advance? And does she think it's just a travesty that the family leaves their deceased brother and ex-husband in this way. We know a lot.
Good reading seems to be quite a problem for many people.
Nobody here knows the complete story and they immediately start with assumptions and so-called facts.
It is written that he reported to his, girlfriend, "may" mean that they had no relationship at all.
His ex and the children flew up and down to Bangkok, but only those who were there know what exactly happened there.
But some use the word partner or someone already calls the girlfriend sister-in-law.
That this man died after such a short illness at a fairly young age is bad enough.
That a hospital immediately demands a deposit of 100.000 is of course too crazy to let loose, but so be it.
The media writes a lot of nonsense these days without verifying.
I am very sorry that this man is portrayed so negatively by some here, without even really knowing him.
Speaking of knowing: I already know some stories about this man, for example read the many (!) negative reactions 10 years ago in this blog. For the first time I had to deal with him for visa applications and his bad reputation had already preceded him. Google: Thailandblog Thai consulate.
Mrs. Yvonne knew Ruijgrok well and gave an insight into how this 'gentleman' operated in life.
And what you're doing is also speculation, isn't it?
Best regards,
1) Family in NL comes to TH by private plane. That costs about Eur 60.000 there and back.
2) Family in NL was only interested in the death certificate, it seems that this was the only reason to fly up and down.
3) My suspicion is that this person Ruijgrok will have been quite well off, because the above two points indicate that.
I have no further opinion about this man, because he does not belong to my social network and I therefore do not know him. If all that is written about him here is true, then he seems to have been of a miserable character. The attitude of his family in NL also points in that direction.
However, I also have (very) bad experiences with the embassy on the Herengracht in Amsterdam. There was a guy walking around who had absolutely no understanding for his clients. For example, I was 10 minutes early to pick up my passport (I came all the way from Zwijndrecht) and I saw my passport on the counter in a container. Because I was double parked I was in a hurry, but he refused to give me my passport. I don't know if this person was Ruijgrok. But it was a rude and arrogant guy.
That was not Mr. Ruijgrok, but the man who sat in my place when I wanted to resume my work after a burnout. Keymaker. He refused me entry and went to call Ruijgrok, while I wanted to enter. Just still in service. And Ruijgrok thought that if you were sick you didn't have to receive a salary. He had never heard of fixed costs per month. For example, I was without income for four months, the Embassy did nothing either. But he himself took off with 4.000 euros. Hence the lawsuit I filed against the Consulate. He had bad lawyers who wouldn't work for him anymore because he never paid the bills. I had the best lawyer you could wish for And won gloriously.
If I told you everything I know, you'd be giddy.
Hi Yvonne, maybe you can respond to my post of June 12, 2023 at 14:42 PM. Was this Ruijgrok or someone else?
He just had a lot of debts. Partly because of his addiction.
Natasha Plug's successor.
You can find all sorts of things through google from this man.
Wouldn't surprise me if this man's behavior stemmed from an addiction.
He probably wouldn't have gotten very far in business.
Regards,
jos k.
There was definitely an addiction. A lot of money went into that. All from the potty of income from visa applications. I won't tell you what kind of addiction we're talking about. But I knew enough.
Sorry for your loss. A few years ago I had several conversations with him at the consulate in Amsterdam. He was very helpful and helpful to me. I have always experienced the conversations as pleasant, helpful and knowledgeable.
I wish the family, friends and friends (girlfriend) in Thailand a lot of strength with the loss.
I knew Richard very well.
We have been friends for over 15 years and I spoke to him 5 days before his death.
I read a lot of negative stories about Richard.
I can only say that I have lost a true friend in Richard.
And before any responses come yes I have offered to pay the costs but this has now been paid by Richard's family
Richard rest in peace mate
If so?
Why the activities of the Thai girlfriend?
If everything had been paid, would she already see her deposit refunded?
Best regards,
Then you should take a look at the update, it is even stated in this blog that payment has already been made.
MVG
I am writing today because a lot of untrue and unfair things have been said about Richard Ruijgrok. As one of the last things I can do for Richard, I wanted to share what I know about him and the story so that his legacy continues to live on.
I am a very close family friend of Richard, having known him for 43 years from the time when we were living in the Netherlands. His father, Aad Ruijgrok, was one of the richest self-made entrepreneurs and businessmen at the time. His father was first appointed as Honorary Consul General of Thailand in Rotterdam. Shortly after, in 1980, Richard Ruijgrok followed in the footstep of his father and was appointed Honorary Consul General of Thailand in Amsterdam. Richard had very close relations with the Royal Thai Embassy in The Hague. When the driver of the Thai ambassador had a heart attack on the day just before the Coronation of Queen Beatrix and the two royal Thai princesses were due to arrive that morning at the airport while the ambassador's wife was due to give birth that very same day, Richard did not hesitate to personally become the designated driver to drive the Thai embassy staff back and forth all day long to ensure the schedule and duties of that day could be kept on track for such a high profile event.
In the years that follow, every time my brother and I came to the Netherlands, Richard would always pay for our hotel rooms when we stayed over and for our dinners, and took time to show us around Amsterdam. From him, I learned about the best Indonesian restaurants in Amsterdam and that Margaux wine is the best wine in the world. He was always very generous, kind and compassionate to us. He taught me to always stay positive about life and to not depend on anyone but yourself.
Richard knows this from first hand experience. Although his father had been very wealthy, after the death of his father about 30 years ago, his father had said that the inheritance would be split between the siblings and their mother after a number of years. However, those number of years came and gone and Richard never received any funds from his family and was cut off from the inheritance by his mother and brothers. He decided to not rely on his family and to forge his own path by developing new business ventures, especially in Thailand, a country that he dearly loved.
Richard was also a very devout Buddhist. He did not eat meat except fish and would always tell my brother and I off for eating meat. Many years ago, he had told me that when his time came, he wanted to be like the Tibetan monks who would climb up to peak of the highest mountains, meditate and let his spirit finally become one with the universe. It was therefore no surprise when I found out that he decided to leave this world on Visakhabucha Day, the day when Buddha was born, enlightened and died. On this same day, Buddha had called his disciples, and he too, just like Richard, had told the people closest to him that this was the day he would leave this world.
One of our family members was the last non-family member person to see Richard alive. Richard had asked his sister to call our elderly relative to come see him before he passed. She said that Richard had told her that “Today is the day I will leave to go to the other place.” After she left, it was decided by Richard and his Dutch family that they would stop all medical treatment, and two hours later, he passed away.
There are a few things that have been incorrectly reported by the media in both Thai and international press:
1. There were four family members from the Netherlands who came to see Richard: his younger sister, his younger sister's daughter, his ex-wife and Richard's daughter. Richard has been divorced from his ex-wife for a very long time, possibly 20 years.
2. The lady in the news above is NOT Richard's girlfriend. Nowhere in the Thai media or the interview given by the lady herself does she mention that she was Richard's girlfriend. Here are two updated news in the Thai media on the story with an interview given by the lady herself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SH82jWKsZLI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhP7j1bc_pM
This lady is actually the younger relative of another elderly woman. This elderly woman and her husband are old friends of Richard, having also known him for over 40 years, since they have done a lot of business with the Netherlands. In the above news clip, you will see that on the evening of 29th May when Richard was ill, he actually took a taxi to come to the home of this elderly couple who then took him to the hospital. It was there that the younger relative of this elderly woman came to visit the next day on 30th May and decided to help make the advanced payments of 60,000 Baht so that the hospital would agree to continue to treat Richard. In the first few days that he was admitted to the hospital, his Thai friends said he had been in good spirits and was positive about fighting the disease and had instructed his Thai frienda to help him find a room at Chulabhorn Hospital, which has a specialist cancer center, since Richard was diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer. He had told his Thai friends that his family would be able to help him with his medical expenses. He called his younger sister a few days later, and on Friday 2nd June, his Dutch family arrived and on the 3rd June, it was decided that his treatment would be discontinued.
3. At the time of his death, Richard was still in the position of Honorary Consul General of Thailand in Amsterdam. He has not yet retired from this post, as was inaccurately reported in Thai media. This has been confirmed by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On 13th May, just over one month ago, Richard and I had exchanged messages about the new Thai election. Richard seemed positive and hopeful about the future and that change will arrive. He had told me his dream was to finally retire in Thailand, where he would buy a house by the beach and he would also look to build a small retirement home project in Thailand where other Dutch people would be able to come to this beautiful country and discover the many things that he loved here.
No one will ever know if Richard had known before that he had been seriously ill, or if he had known, why had he not chosen to disclose this to any of his friends or family, so that we could have helped him seek medical treatment a fate earlier. However, a part of me believes that since he was left to fend for his own and not to rely on anyone for such a long time, he didn't want to be seen to be a burden to other people.
Richard's death was much too soon and too untimely. On 27th June, it would have been Richard's 66th birthday. We had been looking to celebrate together in the coming weeks.
Richard was a unique and extraordinary man, and he will be greatly missed by those that truly knew him.