The walls are covered with psychedelic paintings of women and on display on the second floor, thousands of carefully catalogued beetles, stick insects, butterflies and mosquitoes are labelled and pinned to white boards, the life work of owners Manop and Dr Rampa Rattanarithikul, a local husband and wife team of insect specialists.

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He said simple measures, including fitting water-resistant skirting boards and installing plug sockets further up the wall, would help property owners minimise the risk of damage.

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So the question is how best to nurture and encourage this transformation of investors from quick-buck merchants into thoughtful stewards - and how also to persuade company boards that they ignore the wishes of their owners at their peril.

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