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| Ken, his wife, and Sinthorn (inset) |
Lop Buri man Sinthorn Yordkwian, a part-time electrical goods repairer, was arrested last week after he allegedly delivered a letter to Ken's home demanding 100,000 baht if he wanted to ensure his family's safety.
The hand-written letter included a mobile phone number for making payment arrangements.
If he refused to comply, the sender would do harm to Ken, his wife and his children.
Ken's mother, Kanchana, who received the letter, last month laid a complaint with Bang Chan and Crime Suppression police.
Mrs Wongpuapan said that at first she thought the letter was from a member of Ken's fan club, teasing the family for fun. However, she took it to police as it could have been a genuine threat.
Police sent a text message to the number supplied, and asked the owner to open a bank account.
The sender gave them the number of an account in Wiang Pa Pao district of Chiang Rai province. Police sent money to the account. Security cameras caught images of a man withdrawing the cash in Chiang Mai.
Police were able to track down their suspect to his rented Pathum Thani home, where he allegedly admitted sending the threatening letter, though he insisted he acted alone.
Police confiscated three mobile phones and a notebook containing the personal details of half a dozen other performers from Mr Sinthorn's home.
The suspect allegedly confessed to sending a similar letter to likay singer Chaiya Mitchai two years ago, demanding 50,000 baht if he wanted to ensure his safety. He obtained the performers' details from newspapers and magazines.
Detectives say Mr Sinthorn is crippled in his right leg, and unable to hold down permanent work. He felt guilty that family members were forced to support him financially, so set about threatening stars to bring in his own income.
He sent a threatening letter to Ken because he came across in the media as kind. He regretted threatening the family, but once he had delivered the letter, it was too late for remorse.
Ken's mother said her family was not angry with Mr Sinthorn, but rather shocked and frightened. In the days after the letter arrived, the family kept Ken's children indoors. They were accompanied to and from school. She decided to act to prevent anyone else falling victim.
"We hope the offender understands that we do not have anything against him, and hope that he harbours no ill-feeling towards us,'' she said. Police will speak to Ken when he returns from Singapore, where he spent the Songkran holiday.
Mrs Wongpuapan and her husband visited the police station where they came face to face with the accused, who gave them a wai.
The Criminal Court has agreed with a police request that Mr Sinthorn should be held in custody for 12 days while they build a case for the prosecutor. -
2.
While the rest of the country has been celebrating Songkran, bad boy actor Somchai "Tao'' Kemklat has been tending to a detention centre vegetable garden.
Tao has been confined at a detention centre in Lampang province after losing his court battle stemming from a January, 2009, assault.
The Supreme Court refused to hear the matter, which he had earlier taken to the Appeals Court. That court upheld the original lower court decision that he should spend 15 days in confinement for assaulting a grocery shop owner.
On Monday, Tao asked for leave to appeal against the court's decision, and to be released on bail in the interim, but was refused.
Tao was taken immediately to the Lampang detention centre, where he has been assigned to tend to a plant nursery.
A spokesman for the detention centre said Tao appeared cheerful, and had taken part in a merit-making ceremony organised by the province for Songkran.
He shares sleeping space with 28 others in quarters meant for twice that number, and will be released on April 25.
In January, 2009, Lampang grocery store owner Wirachart "Kota'' Densirikhun, 57 complained to police that Tao beat him up at a roadside eatery as he was tucking into a bowl of noodles and dumplings.
Kota said Tao appeared drunk, and resented the fact that while others at the shop gave him a wai, Kota appeared to ignore him.
In February, the Appeals Court in Chiang Mai upheld a District Court verdict sentencing Tao to 15 days confinement for assaulting Kota. Tao appealed it, and the Supreme Court handed down its verdict on Monday.
Tao had denied the assault charge, insisting the head and body injuries sustained by Kota that day were an accident.
The Lampang district court, the first to hear the dispute, found that Tao had indeed assaulted Kota, though the victim incurred no lasting physical or psychological damage.
It sentenced Tao to 15 days in jail, but commuted it to 15 days confinement, arguing a prison term would serve no useful purpose.
A few months after the assault charge was laid, Tao married magazine marketing executive Athamart "Yui'' Attsawawimol, and moved to Bangkok. The couple now have two children.
Yui said she and Tao had come to terms with the likely court verdict some time ago, and she welcomed the chance to start their lives anew.
"I am relieved the decision has come out, because now we can get on with our lives,'' she told Khao Sod newspaper.
She had not been to visit Tao, as she was busy looking after the children.
"I told him to look after himself, as there would be no one at the detention centre to help him with anything. He asked me to take good care of the kids,'' she said.
Contacted at his Lampang store, Kota said he was happy the case had finally come to an end. He did not regard it as a victory over Somchai, but hopes it will serve as a lesson against those who think they can wield influence and get away with it. -
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| Tao |
Tao has been confined at a detention centre in Lampang province after losing his court battle stemming from a January, 2009, assault.
The Supreme Court refused to hear the matter, which he had earlier taken to the Appeals Court. That court upheld the original lower court decision that he should spend 15 days in confinement for assaulting a grocery shop owner.
On Monday, Tao asked for leave to appeal against the court's decision, and to be released on bail in the interim, but was refused.
Tao was taken immediately to the Lampang detention centre, where he has been assigned to tend to a plant nursery.
A spokesman for the detention centre said Tao appeared cheerful, and had taken part in a merit-making ceremony organised by the province for Songkran.
He shares sleeping space with 28 others in quarters meant for twice that number, and will be released on April 25.
In January, 2009, Lampang grocery store owner Wirachart "Kota'' Densirikhun, 57 complained to police that Tao beat him up at a roadside eatery as he was tucking into a bowl of noodles and dumplings.
Kota said Tao appeared drunk, and resented the fact that while others at the shop gave him a wai, Kota appeared to ignore him.
In February, the Appeals Court in Chiang Mai upheld a District Court verdict sentencing Tao to 15 days confinement for assaulting Kota. Tao appealed it, and the Supreme Court handed down its verdict on Monday.
Tao had denied the assault charge, insisting the head and body injuries sustained by Kota that day were an accident.
The Lampang district court, the first to hear the dispute, found that Tao had indeed assaulted Kota, though the victim incurred no lasting physical or psychological damage.
It sentenced Tao to 15 days in jail, but commuted it to 15 days confinement, arguing a prison term would serve no useful purpose.
A few months after the assault charge was laid, Tao married magazine marketing executive Athamart "Yui'' Attsawawimol, and moved to Bangkok. The couple now have two children.
Yui said she and Tao had come to terms with the likely court verdict some time ago, and she welcomed the chance to start their lives anew.
"I am relieved the decision has come out, because now we can get on with our lives,'' she told Khao Sod newspaper.
She had not been to visit Tao, as she was busy looking after the children.
"I told him to look after himself, as there would be no one at the detention centre to help him with anything. He asked me to take good care of the kids,'' she said.
Contacted at his Lampang store, Kota said he was happy the case had finally come to an end. He did not regard it as a victory over Somchai, but hopes it will serve as a lesson against those who think they can wield influence and get away with it. -
3.
Actor and DJ Pakorn "Dome'' Lum's love has apologised to the media for turning up at their first public outing together wearing a sour face.
Dome escorted Paranat "Paint'' Phatchu to the Bangkok wedding earlier this month of socialites Pathee "Dung'' Sarasin and Pitiphat "Bee'' Jithnatham.
Paint, who works outside the industry, wore a sour face and was often spotted with her head down, punching away at her BlackBerry phone, rather than engaging the media with a sunny smile.
She wore an unhappy face on two occasions when photographers asked her to pose for a picture. Dome was heard to whisper: "Smile, please? The media have made the effort to come here.''
Paint did her best, but looked forced. When the photographers had had their fill, she scampered from the scene, with Dome trailing in her wake.
Some reports said that at the time of the show, Paint put up an emoticon on her Twitter page of a sour face, reflecting the way she felt on the night. Netizens who saw the wedding pictures criticised her demeanour, as reporters wondered if she had just argued with superstar Dome.
In a Twitter message, Paint has now apologised to the media for letting the side down.
"I wasn't unhappy ... I'm just unaccustomed to reporters in such large numbers,'' she said.
"It was our first public appearance, and I wasn't prepared for meeting so many of you, so have to apologise.
"I have an ordinary face, which looks sour as a matter of course. Those who are close to me know I wasn't feeling bad.
"Don't think so poorly of me,'' she pleaded.
When they saw them together, Dome fans couldn't help but compare her looks with those of Dome's ex-love, actress Cherman "Ploy'' Boonyasak.
The two have lit up TV screens recently, sharing starring roles in the Channel 3 soap, Love Never Dies.
"Ploy is prettier, but Paint has ... natural looks,'' said one fan, commenting on her dour appearance.
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| Dome, Paint |
Dome escorted Paranat "Paint'' Phatchu to the Bangkok wedding earlier this month of socialites Pathee "Dung'' Sarasin and Pitiphat "Bee'' Jithnatham.
Paint, who works outside the industry, wore a sour face and was often spotted with her head down, punching away at her BlackBerry phone, rather than engaging the media with a sunny smile.
She wore an unhappy face on two occasions when photographers asked her to pose for a picture. Dome was heard to whisper: "Smile, please? The media have made the effort to come here.''
Paint did her best, but looked forced. When the photographers had had their fill, she scampered from the scene, with Dome trailing in her wake.
Some reports said that at the time of the show, Paint put up an emoticon on her Twitter page of a sour face, reflecting the way she felt on the night. Netizens who saw the wedding pictures criticised her demeanour, as reporters wondered if she had just argued with superstar Dome.
In a Twitter message, Paint has now apologised to the media for letting the side down.
"I wasn't unhappy ... I'm just unaccustomed to reporters in such large numbers,'' she said.
"It was our first public appearance, and I wasn't prepared for meeting so many of you, so have to apologise.
"I have an ordinary face, which looks sour as a matter of course. Those who are close to me know I wasn't feeling bad.
"Don't think so poorly of me,'' she pleaded.
When they saw them together, Dome fans couldn't help but compare her looks with those of Dome's ex-love, actress Cherman "Ploy'' Boonyasak.
The two have lit up TV screens recently, sharing starring roles in the Channel 3 soap, Love Never Dies.
"Ploy is prettier, but Paint has ... natural looks,'' said one fan, commenting on her dour appearance.
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