LATEST INTERNET CRAZE WARNING, OLD PAL'S HALF MILLION LOAN DILEMMA, NAILING HIS COLOURS TO THE MAST

Pong, Aum

Images of Thai celebrities planking - lying face down, board like, in unusual public places - are upsetting cultural watchdogs, who are worried their fans will get carried away with a rash of reckless death-pose imitations.

On Thursday, Thai Rath newspaper published half a dozen images of local celebrities planking. Among them was actress Patcharapa "Aum'' Chaichuea, suspended board-like in the arms of actor Nawat "Pong'' Kulrattanarak.

The same morning, two public television stations introduced viewers to the planking craze. A Channel 3 news programme fronted by Sorrayuth Suthassanachinda carried a brief item, and a Modernine TV breakfast show fronted by Woody Milintachinda presented a demonstration.

Woody and two performers laid face down on top of each other on a table, and planked for five seconds.

You have to hold your arms against your body, and put your feet out straight, he instructed his guests, singers "Nat'' Sakdatorn and Wantongchai "Ton'' Intarawat.

You also have to take a picture, and post it on the internet, he added.

Reports appeared in the media last week that planking fever, which started in the West, had now reached Asia, and was taking China by storm.

Local celebrities, not to be outdone, started taking pictures of themselves planking, and posted them on Facebook.

By Thursday, an internet forum had gathered images of up to a dozen local stars planking in unusual places, including the top of a bus, a seat in front of a 7-Eleven, and a patio table.

By the next day, at least half a dozen media outlets had picked up on the story, publishing images of ordinary Thais planking in the middle of a busy street, on a public stairwell, at a mass aerobics session, on top of a pavement sign, outside a bank and on a Skytrain platform.

One Thai has started a website (facedown.in.th) dedicated to planking, otherwise known as the face down game, in which fans send in pictures of themselves planking.

A Thai planking society, with 9,000 members, has taken root on Facebook. On Saturday, members will take to the streets around Siam Square, planking to promote the July 3 election.

Members of the planking club will lie head-to-toe in the shape of large square with a cross in the middle, to resemble the voting box on a ballot form. The group is coming out in plank formation to encourage young people to vote in the July 3 election.

Even if the pastime is being put to good use, the teen planking craze has nonetheless upset culture watchdog Ladda Tangsupachai, director of the Culture Ministry's Cultural Surveillance Department.

She says teens are likely to choose ever stranger and more unusual places for their planking exploits, which could put their safety at risk. In Brisbane, a young man had fallen from the seventh floor of a condo last May after attempting to plank on a balcony railing.

Don't get carried away as you plank, said Ms Ladda. "You might see your idols planking, but don't rush to imitate them and in so doing go too far. I don't want tragedies to take place because of some fashion,'' she said.

Apichai Mongkol, head of the Mental Health Department, said all teens enjoyed a dare, but if parents ignored the planking craze, it was likely to fade of its own accord. "Don't ban your children from doing it. Just keep an eye on them,'' he said.

Some experts have likened planking to extreme sports; others say it is a product of the internet age, pumped up by social media, in which young people like to show off, and share their exploits with friends.

The warnings were prompted by images of Aum planking in the arms of her soap opera co-star Por. Aum asked Por to help her plank, after seeing her friends do it on Facebook.

Among other local celebrities who have pictured themselves planking are Prin "Mark'' Suparat, who planked on the bonnet of a truck; singer Pathiphan "Zen'' Lorsathien, who lay across a chainlink fence; Pakorn "Boy'' Chatborirak, across a wooden seat; and Sarunyu "Ice'' Winaipanit, on a curved plastic seat in front of a 7-Eleven.

Contacted by Thai Rath newspaper, Por said he held Aum at her request, but didn't really know what was happening. "I look awkward as I am holding her, but we did it just for a laugh,'' he said.

"I only heard about this the other day, when Aum told me about the craze. I was umbfounded. I asked myself, 'Is this really what people do to have fun?' '' he said.

"It looks pointless, but I realised our lives don't always have to be serious and full of substance.

"We can do it just for fun, or to release stress. But I have heard of foreigners planking in unusual places, and having accidents. So I'd urge people to plank within safe limits,'' he said. -

2.

Kor

Businessman Theerasak "Kor'' Pantujariya says he is still waiting for the return of more than 500,000 baht he loaned to a former actress, and says at least another 10 performers may have fallen victim to her allegedly scheming ways.

Kor, a former actor now involved in the cosmetics and fashion industry, said he loaned Sida Puapimon 550,000 baht in September last year. She told him she was making a TV soap, Mae Nak Pra Kanong, for the JSL Global Media production company.

"She took me along for a casting meeting with actress Suthida "Nuk" Kasemsun na Ayutthaya, whom she also wanted to appear in the series.

"I posed bare-chested for the casting shots,'' he said.

Sida was supposed to pay back the first part of the loan two months later, but when he called to find out about progress, she put him off.

"She said shooting had been postponed a few months, and it carried on like this, every time I called.

"She was constantly changing her number, and in the end I lost touch.''

Kor called JSL, who told him the series had been abandoned long ago.

Sida

"Only one casting meeting was ever held. They told me that even if the show had gone ahead, only one of their producers would have made it, not Sida. So I don't know how she came to be there on the day I was invited to the casting meeting,'' he said.

Kor lodged a complaint with Hua Mak police on Friday, alleging fraud. He said that since airing details of his debt plight, another 10 performers had contacted him complaining of having loaned money to Sida without getting it back.

Sida lost her son, actor Apichart "Aof'' Puapimon, 30, in November, 2006, to a heart attack brought on by asthma.

"Friends ask me why I lent her so much money. I reply that I was close to her son for more than 20 years, knew her as his mother, and felt sorry for her,'' Kor said. -

3.

Kanok

News anchor Kanok Ratwongsakul has nailed his political colours to the mast, just two weeks from the election.

On his Facebook page, Kanok wrote: "Don't allow those people who set fire to the country to take over.''

Kanok, a mainstay presenter for the Nation TV channel, also presents a news programme for Modernine TV.

One report said his remarks were a clear reference to the fiery street riots last April and May led by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD).

By the time the media caught up with Kanok's remarks, however, he had taken down the controversial fan page.

Asked for comment, Kanok said he put up the remark purely for his friends and fans, not to make a political statement.

"I took it down because readers started getting into arguments over whether or not to cast a `No' vote in the election,'' he said, referring to a campaign headed by the UDD's yellow shirt rivals, the People's Alliance for Democracy, which is urging Thais to vote "No'' on their ballot slips on July 3.

Asked whether his remark put him in the yellow shirt camp, at the cost of his objectivity as a news anchor, Kanok brought the interview to an abrupt close, reported the pro-yellow shirt ASTV/Manager newspaper.