The exploits of former singer turned alleged con-artist Nathan Oman are providing prime-time entertainment for people who have missed his absence from scandal during an eight-month media hiatus.
Fed up with his allegedly deceptive and thieving ways, a family from Loei that took him under their wing laid a complaint with police last week alleging he had cost them more than 700,000 baht.
Talking to the media in Bangkok, they have laid bare the bizarre saga of Life with Nathan - replete with alleged lies, prince-pauper tales and odd mother-son relationships - which they say took place at their family home.
Nathan, for his part, has emerged from a brief period of sulky artist-like seclusion - he declined to respond to the claims initially, saying he looked too fat - to conduct a round of celebrity media interviews of his own, some of them in secret locations, to counter their claims.
The extended family of Pitsamai "Maem'' Srikrabuth, a Bangkok teacher who until recently regarded herself as Nathan's adoptive mother, say Nathan conned them out of 740,000 baht. They filed a complaint with local police on Monday.
This time around, however, people are more interested in what went on in the family home than details of Nathan's supposedly fraudulent dealings. Nathan is emerging as a loveable rogue.
Police say they will issue a summons for the former RS Promotion star, who insists the family defrauded him, rather than the other way around.
In April, Nathan settled a debt dispute with his former housekeeper Saman "Tem'' Sukserm, who told police he had borrowed 740,000 baht from her and failed to pay it back.
He was supported through this ordeal by his adoptive mother, Maem, who raised the money to bail him out after his arrest, and shielded him from intrusive media cameras at court.
In the wake of his troubles with the housekeeper - and in a fateful move for his next alleged victims - Maem introduced him to her family in Chiang Khan district, Loei.
"If you love me, you'll love Nathan,'' Maem told them.
Maem has a retinue of former students in the entertainment industry for whom she likes to provide care.
Nathan, who claims he is part-Thai, part-Nepalese, told Maem he had no parents, no job and nowhere to live.
Her family took pity on the young man. As good country folk, they opened their homes and hearts.
Maem, during her absence in Bangkok, entrusted him with overseeing the building of a resort on the family compound, and to help her parents build a new home at the same spot.
Nathan moved in with Maem's parents, but also had the run of an aunt's place nearby.
According to the police complaint, Nathan asked Maem's aunt by marriage, Sithiporn "Mod'' Kortudomporn, to invest in a tour company he wanted to set up.
Mod, who admits she was taken in by his promises that he would make her rich, raised 700,000 baht for the faded star. She now regrets being so greedy.
Mod also guaranteed the finance on a one million baht Chevrolet.
Mod said she mortgaged her home, borrowed from a local lending ring and loan sharks to raise money for the venture, which failed to go ahead.
As the creditors called for their money, Mod asked for her investment back, but Nathan said the company had gone bust.
If she cannot pay her debtors this month, her home may be sold from under her.
After lodging their police complaint in Loei, Maem, Mod and her eldest son travelled to Bangkok to talk to the media.
Nathan and Maem appeared separately, but the interviews have been broken into segments and played out during prime time over several nights, as the media makes the most of their drawn-out battle.
Bangkok reporters have also dropped in on Loei to visit the resort that Nathan called home until his departure in October.
Maem's parents, who say they never wanted trouble with the media, opened up about the man with unusual tastes who lived under their roof.
Nathan, they said, would take only showers under running water, not with the aid of a plastic bucket and a tub, like everyone else.
The women who looked after him took turns to wash his clothes, bedding, dishes, even his underwear.
"While he stayed with us, Nathan lived the life of a prince, while others went without,'' said Mod, who is wise with hindsight.
"He was always coming to me with a sad look on his face and his hand out.''
Maem's parents were horrified when he erected a large cloth barrier, stretching 100m across the front of their home, to keep the scrutiny of strangers at bay.
He kept large, underwear-clad dolls in the house, which they feared would upset monks invited to bless their new home.
"When he went into town, he covered his head, only showing his eyes. I wondered how he would cope running a resort, as he would have to greet the guests,'' said Mod.
"My two younger sons, both under 10, were his courtiers - they waited on him hand and foot.
"He even borrowed money from them to buy roti and cigarettes - always an imported brand,'' she said.
More distressingly, Nathan also helped himself to her ATM card, while making Mod promise not to utter a word about his borrowing to Maem.
According to the family, Nathan also approached Maem's parents, who at his urging sold six cherished family cows, and sought the help of loan sharks to raise 100,000 baht for their guest.
Nathan also managed to get his name onto their house registration papers as an occupant.
The young man took the document with him when he left the resort.
"We realise we had been deceived when he failed to repay money he had promised,'' said Maem.
After an argument, Nathan cleared out his belongings, leaving only a pair of his underpants - much photographed by curious journalists in the last week - hanging in his hut as a bittersweet memento.
Maem said she has now disowned Nathan, and urged his real parents to take him to a psychiatrist.
"It's time to end your deceptive ways, and lead an honest life,'' she said, referring to Nathan. "You're no longer a star, just someone ordinary. You have to work for a living like everyone else.''
Nathan said he, in fact, is the victim of the resort saga. He said Maem took Mod's money to invest in the place.
"When I arrived there, they had no power, or water. They have no money, as no one there holds down a job,'' he said.
"Maem earns just 10,000 baht as a teacher. How can she borrow enough for a two million baht family home for her parents?'' he asked.
"I asked my aunt, Nae, to send money, because I wanted to help boost the province as a tourist spot. She was a co-investor in the resort, but is now left out of pocket,'' he said.
"Maem's father has a temper, and came after me with a knife. If I failed to invite him to take a meal with us, he climbed a tree and set his pet birds loose to attack my head. When the resort was finished, they planned to throw me out of the place,'' Nathan said.
Maem's family claim Nathan is gay, gave generous tips to handsome tradesmen, kept his car stuffed with lubricant gel and condoms, and invited temple youngsters back at night.
Nathan, while insisting his sexuality is a private matter, said Maem regarded him as much more than a mere son, at least in the early stages.
Nathan's disaffected former manager, Anucha "Chi'' Langprasert, who has joined the opposing camp, said Maem is distressed by Nathan's claims that their relationship went further than she has let on.
"It was strictly mother-son. Her parents, who hosted Nathan at their home for eight months, are in tears,'' he said.
Nathan has a colourful past. In complaints to police, people have accused him of conning them out of fees for overseas tours that never took place. A DJ said Nathan left her out of pocket in a restaurant venture they ran together.
In perhaps his most imaginative endeavour, Nathan last year claimed he had landed a starring role in The Prince of Red Shoe, a Hollywood movie set in the Arabian desert, starring Bruce Willis and Christina Ricci.
Movie fans can find no trace of the movie, and 20th Century Fox has denied it exists.
For plucky Nathan, who will only answer questions about his troubles at the resort rather than his past brushes with the law, that's all ancient history, and few people seem interested anyway. They want to know what their homespun rascal will get up to next.
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