A grief-stricken Thai man who could not move on from his wife's death lived with her corpse at home for 21 YEARS before finally deciding to cremate her.

Charn Janwatchakal, 72, lived with his wife, Nai, and their two sons in their home in Bangkok, Thailand, but he was devastated when she died of a brain aneurysm in 2001, leaving Charn and his family wracked with sorrow.

The retired army officer took his wife's body back from the hospital to his house, keeping her inside a coffin and allegedly sleeping beside it every night. He would even talk to the corpse as if it were alive. Charn's unconventional display of devotion later caused him to have a falling out with his sons, who did not agree with his decision to deny his wife a burial.

However, Charn last month contacted local officials to ask for a funeral for his late wife, who he had embalmed to preserve her corpse. Staff from the Bangkok Foundation, a volunteer first aid response unit, have now finally laid Nai to rest after holding a Buddhist cremation earlier this month.

Charn said: 'I wanted to keep my wife's body with me until I died. But I realised no one would hold a proper funeral procession for her. I called the local volunteers to tell them the situation. They arrived very quickly and took her away.'

Rescue foundation officers retrieved the body from Charn's home. Police have not taken any action against the widower as he had already registered his wife's death. It is unclear how and in what conditions the corpse was in.

On the day of the funeral, Charn tearfully bid his wife one final farewell. Through sobs, he was reportedly heard saying: 'My dear, you are just going for a brief business and you’ll be back home again. It won’t be long, I promise.'

Charn took the ashes home as foundation staff worked to fix his dilapidated house, which had fallen into disrepair over the years. They fixed the roof and wiring, and also donated a bed and mattress for him to sleep on.

Now trying to move on from decades of heartache, Charn said he would honor his wife's memory by volunteering at the foundation. He has allowed them to keep their rescue boats in his compound in exchange for daily visits from the staff.

He said: 'I feel lonely without my wife. Now I know that I will never see her I'm heartbroken all over again. I spoke to her every day. I just wanted to keep her with me.'