A FAMILY AFFAIR, BIG UP FRONT, MATCH OF THE DAY, RED OR YELLOW

Petch

Beleaguered country music singer Sorapob "Petch" Leelamekin made a new enemy after he visited a Bangkok police station to help identify a man whom his girlfriend's family has accused of fraud.

The accused - a film director, who denies the charge - was so angry to see Petch that he has vowed to take legal action of his own.

Chen

Perng Mang (The Haunted Drum) director, Nuttpeera "Chen" Chomsri, says he will counter-sue Petch and his girlfriend Thidarat Oiy Attarat for defamation, in a dispute that started over investment fundsm which went awry.

Oiy and her mother say the director asked them to open a film editing studio. They gave him the money, but then his behaviour changed.

The day Oiy and her mum complained to police, Petch tagged along. Chen did not respond at the time, as he was busy with work.

Since then, Petch has achieved a kind of notoriety, hogging Thai red-top dailies in a dispute with relatives of his late mother, the former queen of luk tung (Thai country music), Poompuang Duangjan.

The row, which started at a temple in Suphan Buri and carried on in the media for weeks, came to a head last month when Petch's father, Kraisorn Leelamekin, vowed to take legal action against his son to get him medical help.

This week, acting on the complaint, police arrested Chen, and called in Oiy and Petch to finger him. Journalists turned up too.

Chen, who would rather the TV cameras had not been present, reckons media magnet Petch invited them along. He had no right to point the finger for the benefit of police and the TV cameras (That's the man!), as it was none of his business.

"What are you doing here? If you want to create front page news for yourself, why don't you go and pick another fight with your dad!" said Chen angrily.

The two argued, and stopped just short of fisticuffs, the media said. Police were present after all.

A day later, Chen went before the media to declare he would counter-sue. The dispute was between himself, Oiy and her mum. Petch should keep out of it, he insisted.

Oiy was money-grubbing and once ran a dodgy modelling business, he alleged. Her mum liked to talk about him endearingly as her son, which was obviously insincere. As for Petch, he was just the boyfriend who worked in the front yard, cleaning up after the family's many dogs.

"Please pass word on to Kraisorn - it's a sorry sight", he said, referring to Petch's poop-collecting duties. Petch, who left home to live with Oiy and her mum about five years ago, says any dispute involving his new family also concerns him.

Oiy and her mum say Chen wanted to open a small film production studio. Mum, who felt sorry for him, spent 100,000 baht renting an office and doing it up for Chen, and sent him another 250,000 baht for film editing gear.

The family says Chen never bought the gear, and when they chased up the money, he turned off his phone.

Chen says the pair asked him to open the business, not the other way around. He was well-known, and Oiy and her mother just wanted to trade on his good name.

Petch's girlfriend Oiy wanted to enter show business and open an acting school. Students would pay 20,000 baht each, and after graduating would be given a guaranteed role in Chens next film.

Chen says he opposed this arrangement, but did agree to go into business with them. He admits he never bought the editing gear, but says mum did not send enough money.

They could have the money back if they compensated him for time he spent on the project. Police are gathering evidence. -

2.

Pat

A pair of good breasts can be as good as an introduction for actress Napapa "Pat" Tontrakul, who says people notice her now that she's put on weight and looks bigger in the chest.

"On the street, people look at my breasts before they look at my face. Women who have never shown any interest in me before suddenly have started asking whether its true that I have had a breast job," she says, commenting on rumours in the gossip press that her breasts had been surgically enhanced.

Pat denies the rumour, but admits she's thought about it. "If I get them made bigger, I'd like to go all the way and get a C cup," she says, adding "However, the foam pads you can buy to enhance bras these days are great. I stuff just a little inside my bra and it achieves the same result." -

3.

Tack

Model and man-about-town Parunyou "Tack" Rojanavudtitham needs a new chat-up line - especially if his real interest in girls lies not in romance, as he claims, but whether they share his love of football.

He has upset model Panpim "Pam" Dechathonchaiphat, after he told reporters that he was interested in her merely as a friend, and had never tried anything more.

Pam disagrees, insisting Tack flirted with her for a month. He should be man enough to admit it, she says.

When journalists asked him whether he was stoking romantic flames with Pam, Tack denied it.

"We don't see each other much, but I didn't flirt with her for sure. I asked for her number, but just to ask to a work function, and talk about football," he said.

He was seeing someone new (not Pam, obviously), but declined to say who.

Pam says Tack made her look bad. Friends had warned her about the Romeo, but she believed he was sincere. He asked for her number, and while his interest lasted, called her every day.

She's sure he was flirting, as he poured sweet words in her ear. "Kit teung, na," (I miss you), he would say.

After reporters spotted them taking a meal together, Tack mysteriously went quiet.

The phone calls stopped, and she heard nothing more.

Pam says she did not chase him or reciprocate his interest.

"If I see him I can still meet his gaze. Is he man enough to admit flirting? I don't know. But I am upset because what he says and what he does appear to be different things." -

4.

It shouldn't matter if you're black or white, says actor Suntisuk "Noom" Promsiri, having his own Michael Jackson moment this week.

Noom is unhappy after his name was dragged into the dispute over plans to seek a royal pardon for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Actors shouldn't get involved in politics, says Noom. In Thailand's fractious political climate, divided between the reds and yellows, he is at pains to stay neutral.

A political group mistakenly cited his name as among opponents of the red shirt backed campaign to pardon Thaksin from his convictions. Anti-Thaksin group Siam Samakki released a list of prominent types including Noom who, it said, agreed that the campaign organised by the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship was wrong.

Noom said that after the media published names on Siam Samakki's list, his own among them, Thaksin supporters vilified him on the internet.

 "Actually, I am not connected with Siam Samakki. But I am worried that if I came out to oppose this group, then it would show that I am with the other side. I just don't like that way of thinking. If I'm not white, does that mean I have to be black? If I am not black, does that mean I have to be white?"

The pressure group, headed by former Council for National Security member Gen Somjet Boonthanom, has since apologised for the mistake, attributing it to a printing error.

Michael Jackson's song, Black or White, says race shouldn't matter. Noom says that for actors, politics shouldn't matter either, at least not in public.