A penniless Thai woman’s fortunes may have changed forever after she discovered an orange Melo pearl in her seafood, worth tens of thousands of pounds.
Kodchakorn Tantiwiwatkul had bought sea snails for 70 baht (Rs 163) from a local market for dinner in Satun province on January 30.
When she cut the snails into smaller pieces, she found that one of the snail shells had a round orange object inside. She thought that the object was a rock, however, when she discovered that it was a six-gram Melo pearl, she was shocked. The pearl measures 1.5 centimetres in diameter and could be worth a small fortune depending upon its quality.
Kodchakorn and her family kept the discovery of the peal a secret fearing that the vendor who sold the snails would ask for it. However, she now plans to sell the pearl to pay for her mother’s medical expenses.
“I showed it to my mother and she said it’s a Melo pearl and very valuable. We also watched the news in the television where a fisherman sold his for a fortune.”
Kodchakorn’s father Niwat Tantiwiwatkul said that they were “desperate” for money now after he had an accident and his wife needed the treatment for cancer. The medical bills could be more than a million baht (Rs 23.34 lakh).
“We can’t wait any longer. Now, we are desperate. My wife was diagnosed with cancer while I had an accident. This Melo pearl is our only hope to help them access the better treatment,” Niwat said.
