A TEACHER was murdered in Thailand by his barmaid girlfriend, a Bury inquest was told.

Paul Mason, aged 27, died instantly when Renu Thapthim stabbed him in the heart in a fit of jealous rage, coroner Simon Nelson heard on Friday.

Thapthim was originally jailed for 18 years by a judge in Bangkok, but the term was reduced to 12 years because she had confessed to the murder in February last year.

Mr Mason had only been in the country for a few days after leaving his home in Falmer Close, Brandlesholme.

Thapthim used a penknife to stab Mr Mason in the chest. The blade punctured his heart and he bled to death within seconds.

At her trial, Thapthim, who worked in Bangkok's Nana Plaza district, said Mr Mason had appeared at her bar, called Palschool, with an English woman he had just met.

Back at their apartment, he had refused to tell her where he and the woman had been for the evening.

In a rage, Thapthim picked up the penknife and stabbed him. She then stabbed herself in the chest before calling a receptionist for help.

While recovering in hospital, Thapthim admitted to police that she had killed Paul, but claimed that it was in self-defence.

Thapthim was spared the death penalty after Mr Mason's family made a plea to the Thai authorities.

The inquest in Bury was held to formally conclude the investigation into Mr Mason's death.

Mr Mason's father, Les, said his son was born in Radcliffe and attended Bury Grammar School and Holy Cross College, and graduated from Staffordshire University in 1998 with a degree in English.

He did his teacher training in London and went to Pakistan to be an English language teacher before returning to Bury.

In 2000, Mr Mason, a Bury FC supporter, began working for a Bolton-based construction magazine as a production assistant which helped to pay for holidays to Thailand.

During three previous trips to Thailand, he met Thapthim and the pair struck up a relationship. He helped her to learn English.

Mr Mason Snr said: "Paul was quite a special, very caring young man and the world has become a poorer place because of his death." Mr Nelson said that in the light of the criminal hearings against Thapthim, the only verdict could be one of unlawful killing.