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| Tookta, Wasu |
DJ Ubonwan "Tookta'' Bunrort is unrepentant after she allegedly attacked her boss, FM 95 director Wasu Lertjanya, at the Rama IX Kanchanaphisek temple on Wednesday.
Wasu was broadcasting live from the temple at a merit-making function to celebrate the country music station's seventh anniversary when Tookta opened the door of his broadcast van and asked for a quiet word.
It was the first time the pair had met in more than two months since a dispute arose over Tookta turning up late for work.
Tookta, one of the founding DJs at the station, says she was dismissed without notice.
"They did not contact me, and when my mother called Wasu to ask what happened, he spoke rudely to her,'' she said.
Tookta asked Wasu to step out of the van.
The two then started to argue, and Tookta allegedly pushed Wasu to the ground, stepping on him and then kicking him in the chest and neck area.
A large contingent of listeners had turned up for the merit-making event, and were aghast, media reports said. Onlookers forced them apart.
Tookta said she was seized by anger because Wasu refused to admit she had been sacked.
"I did it because I was angry, and he was provoking me. It was unmanly behaviour. I decided to send him a message that this is what happens to bad people.
"I didn't mean to do it ... it was just a coincidence that I happened to find him there.''
Tookta said she visited the temple to perform a ceremony expunging herself of bad luck only to find the station's merit-making birthday bash in full swing.
She asked to speak to Wasu, after hearing that he had told a recent staff meeting that she had left of her own accord.
Earlier, the station's programme director Pakamad "Kae'' Wangbun called her to say she had been dismissed on Wasu's order.
"When my mother called the next day, Wasu criticised my conduct so much that she started to cry,'' she said.
"I did not leave. They sacked me, after earlier placing me on suspension, but will not admit the truth,'' she insisted.
Wasu did not retaliate, but returned to the van to resume his broadcast.
Wasu consulted his bosses at public broadcaster MCOT, which owns the top-rated station.
The next day he appeared before the media to declare he would lay a police complaint against Tookta for assault and defamation.
Kamalasiri Itsarangkul na Ayutthaya, vice-president of the Radio Group for MCOT who accompanied him, said she would set up a committee to investigate Tookta's claims of financial impropriety at the station.
Wasu insisted Tookta had not been sacked, and that her name was still on the station's programming schedule.
He said Tookta started turning up to work habitually last November.
"She was warned verbally and in writing, but failed to improve her behaviour. I found out later that she was hosting a cable TV show, which ran into the time when she should have been on air with us. She was late by up to 30, 40, 50 minutes a time, day after day.
"Our employees cannot accept work for rival broadcasters. She also promoted her cable TV show on air, which is also irregular,'' he said.
Tookta refused to punch her timecard at work, and declined to renew her contract with the station.
The station was eventually forced to make scheduling changes to accommodate her lateness.
"In March, we came up with a new time for her weekend shows, and told her to sort out her late appearances. She refused to come into work again or tell us what happened,'' he said.
Wasu described what happened outside the broadcast van. "I was shoved, kicked and stepped on. I was on the ground, but not crawling,'' he joked.
"I did not defend myself, as Tookta is a woman, so I had to let her attack me. But I deny speaking to her mother rudely as alleged,'' he said.
Tookta, who admits she presents an astrology programme for cable TV which clashed with her radio commitments, agrees she turned up for work late, but doubted this was the real reason for the dispute. She attributed it to a conflict of interest.
She was likely to take a complaint to the Labour Ministry for unfair dismissal. On Friday, she took a group of former FM 95 DJs before the media to complain about the way the station had treated them.-
2.
Singer and actress Kemanij "Pancake'' Jamikorn, who braves the southern troubles to sing at Red Cross fairs, will have to whip up her courage again as she fronts a soap opera with her old love, actor Sukollawat "Weir'' Kanaros.
Kantana production house has paired them in a soap opera, the Angel and the Mafia, the first time they will have acted together since they broke up last year.
News of the pairing comes as Pancake prepares to again brave the southern violence to sing at the Yala Red Cross fair, after earlier performing at Red Cross fairs in the troubled Narathiwat and Pattani provinces.
The two went before the media to discuss the production last week, but denied they were feeling nervous about being paired again, or the prospect that their former love might be rekindled.
Pancake is now seeing actor and singer Arak "Pae'' Amornsupasiri, who said he had no problem with Pancake taking the role, as she regarded it simply as work.
Asked if the soap was likely to contain love scenes, Weir said it would probably contain some petting. "These shows usually contain a bit of that, but I have yet to read the script,'' he said.
"I would rather people focus on our work rather than look for signs of anything happening between us,'' he said.
Pancake said she wasn't worried about working with Weir.
"The director will decide what is appropriate for both our characters,'' she said.
Asked about her concert appearances in the South, Pancake said she wasn't worried about the prospect of an attack at the fair.
"Trouble can occur at any time, so it is best just to get on with it. It's a charity event in which I can help bring some happiness to people,'' she said. -
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| Pancake, Weir |
Kantana production house has paired them in a soap opera, the Angel and the Mafia, the first time they will have acted together since they broke up last year.
News of the pairing comes as Pancake prepares to again brave the southern violence to sing at the Yala Red Cross fair, after earlier performing at Red Cross fairs in the troubled Narathiwat and Pattani provinces.
The two went before the media to discuss the production last week, but denied they were feeling nervous about being paired again, or the prospect that their former love might be rekindled.
Pancake is now seeing actor and singer Arak "Pae'' Amornsupasiri, who said he had no problem with Pancake taking the role, as she regarded it simply as work.
Asked if the soap was likely to contain love scenes, Weir said it would probably contain some petting. "These shows usually contain a bit of that, but I have yet to read the script,'' he said.
"I would rather people focus on our work rather than look for signs of anything happening between us,'' he said.
Pancake said she wasn't worried about working with Weir.
"The director will decide what is appropriate for both our characters,'' she said.
Asked about her concert appearances in the South, Pancake said she wasn't worried about the prospect of an attack at the fair.
"Trouble can occur at any time, so it is best just to get on with it. It's a charity event in which I can help bring some happiness to people,'' she said. -
3.
The daughter of folk music legend Ad Carabao (Yuenyong Opakul) says she is unlikely to follow in his song for life footsteps.
Natcha "Scene'' Opakul, who strips down this month for a cover spread in Touch magazine, says it is the first time she has performed a bikini shoot, and she did so with her father's consent.
"My father has never given any sign that he is upset if we fail to follow in his footsteps.
"I would like to try more modelling, as I enjoy it,'' she told Dara Daily gossip magazine.
Scene also plays music, but not her father's kind.
"If I enter the entertainment industry, I am unlikely to perform songs for life.
"I would probably sound like a mix of Lady Gaga and Ad Carabao instead,'' she said.
Her father had asked only that she persevere with piano, as she was good at it.
Folk music also fails to grab Scene's elder sister, Sen Nicha, a former Miss Thailand beauty contestant who has also released an album of hip hop music.
Ad declined comment on Scene's bikini shoot, but said he was always willing to listen to his children's wishes.
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| Scene |
Natcha "Scene'' Opakul, who strips down this month for a cover spread in Touch magazine, says it is the first time she has performed a bikini shoot, and she did so with her father's consent.
"My father has never given any sign that he is upset if we fail to follow in his footsteps.
"I would like to try more modelling, as I enjoy it,'' she told Dara Daily gossip magazine.
Scene also plays music, but not her father's kind.
"If I enter the entertainment industry, I am unlikely to perform songs for life.
"I would probably sound like a mix of Lady Gaga and Ad Carabao instead,'' she said.
Her father had asked only that she persevere with piano, as she was good at it.
Folk music also fails to grab Scene's elder sister, Sen Nicha, a former Miss Thailand beauty contestant who has also released an album of hip hop music.
Ad declined comment on Scene's bikini shoot, but said he was always willing to listen to his children's wishes.
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