ON March 26, 1967 Thailand’s “king of silk” Jim Thompson went for an afternoon walk in Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands and disappeared without any trace, leaving behind one of the most intriguing unsolved mysteries.

Theories abound over what really happened to the famous American, who prior to carving a name as a successful silk merchant in Thailand was a decorated secret agent with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the predecessor to the present-day Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

After serving with distinction during the World War II, Thompson turned his attention into reviving Thailand’s lagging silk industry where he managed to turn it world famous, counting Hollywood’s biggest stars as among his clients.

So what really happened to the 61-year-old American? Speculations are rife about his fate, ranging from being eaten by a roaming tiger to lost in the confusing forest trail, fallen into a ravine or kidnapped.

Now, a new documentary titled “Who Killed Jim Thompson” which premiered in Thailand several days ago has made an explosive revelation, claiming to have solved the mystery of the former spy and silk trader’s disappearance.  

“Jim Thompson was executed by the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM),” said its producer, Barry Broman from Adventure Film Productions, in Bangkok recently.

Speaking during a premiere of his documentary in Bangkok, he said the new information which had linked CPM to Thompson’s disappearance was discovered by his friend, Xuwicha “Noi” Hiranpruek, about five years ago.

Hiranpruek, who was also present during the premiere, said the information implicating the CPM with Thompson’s disappearance came about following a conversation with a Singaporean friend, Teo Pin, who now lives in Shanghai.

How Teo, a surveyor, knew about CPM’s involvement which the Singaporean, who also attended the premiere, was revealed from the deathbed confessions of the former’s late uncle, Teo Pok Hwa, who once served as a senior CPM cadre.

During his stay at Cameron Highlands’ Moonlight Cottage, Thompson, according to Teo, as told by his late uncle, had made known his intention of wanting to meet Chin Peng, who was at that time CPM’s secretary-general.

“Thompson wanted to meet Chin Peng, who was then the most wanted man in Malaya,” he said, adding that a request from the American had elicited suspicions in Cameron Highland, which at that time was a hotbed for communist activities.

He said Moonlight Cottage once served as the CPM headquarters.

The request to meet the most wanted man in Malaysia, said Teo, forced CPM and its sympathisers in Cameron Highlands to dig more information about Thompson, which eventually unravelled his past as a secret agent with a Western intelligence agency.

Broman said it was not a good time for a Westerner with a past history of being an intelligence agent to request a meeting with Chin Peng, adding that the CPM later determined that Thompson was a spy and decided to put an end to his life.

“Jim (Thompson) should have known better than to ask for Chin Peng. He took a big chance which could possibly cost him his life,” he said.

This new piece of information linking CPM with Thompson’s disappearance was further corroborated with another newly found information sourced from Willis Bird Jr or better known as Billy among his friends.

Billy’s late father, Willis Bird Sr, was Thompson’s colleague during their time in the OSS where both had cultivated a close relationship with Thailand’s then prime minister Pridi Banomyong before he was ousted and sent into exile in China.

According to Billy, who was present during the premiere, Pridi wanted his father to meet him in China but Bird Sr declined the invitation which was eventually taken up by the adventurous Thompson, who travelled to Cameron Highlands for that purpose.

His father had told him that the American “king of Thai silk” was killed by CPM at the behest of the Communist Party of China to impede his effort to meet the exiled former Thai prime minister in China. – Bernama, December 10, 2017.