A struggling Thai housekeeper was bequeathed 100 million THB (2.2 million GBP) on her birthday from her terminally ill French employer.

The Frenchwoman, Catherine Delacot, 59, was suffering from end-stage cancer when she shot herself with a pistol at her sprawling luxury home on Koh Samui island in Surat Thani province on April 29.

A pool maintenance worker, Somporn Bunsert, found her body lying on a bed next to the pool at 8 am and informed police.

Authorities believe Catherine committed suicide, based on her actions leading up to her death, including sending goodbye messages and settling salary payments.

They also reportedly found gunpowder residue on her left hand from the gun she had bought to protect herself from burglars.

However, the suspected suicide was not caught on CCTV as Catherine herself was seen adjusting the camera angle a day before her death. The clip also showed Catherine apparently writing something on her desk.

Catherine's Thai maid of 17 years, Natthawalai Phupongta, 49, showed officers a phone message through the app Line allegedly stating her employer had left her 100 million baht worth of inheritance on April 29.

Among the assets bequeathed to the Thai woman were the villa with half-an-acrea land, a sports car, jewellery stored in a safe, and around 50 million THB (1.1 million THB) of money in a bank account.

Catherine's final message reportedly read: 'My journey ends here. I genuinely believe you are an honest person. Therefore, I entrust you with this task. My will is in my safe. I wish for my body and ashes to be kept on the island.'

She also instructed Natthawalai to entrust her ex-husband two villas, several bank accounts, and her pet cats.

The message continued: 'I've given you a phone without a password, and its subscription has already been paid for several months. 

'Please contact these people in France and inform them of my passing, including my friends, friends of my godmother, my ex-husband, my mother's cousins, and my cousins on my mother's side. 

'Please also close my Facebook account. It is distressing to see the profile of someone who has passed away. 

'I've left you all my passwords. Please post a message to inform people of my passing and then close it.'

Catherine also left some money for her funeral arrangements and a password-protected safe for her best friend.

Mother-of-four Natthawalai said she last saw the Frenchwoman at the villa on April 28. She had asked to take a half day to celebrate her birthday.

The emotional housekeeper said: 'I wanted her to stay with me. I did not want this. I received many things from her, but I lost her. I'm very sad and miss her deeply. I think of her as a mother who always took care of me.

'I would rather have her alive with me than her money and house.'

She said Catherine had confided in her about her struggles with cancer, which doctors were unable to cure.

Natthawalai said she has not yet decided what to do with the villa and car, but said she is unwilling to sell them.

Natthawalai said she is arranging a Buddhist style funeral for her late employer using the money she left behind.