Official's art theft 'tasteless, shameful'
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| Suphat, left, and Chalermchai |
A senior public official’s theft of three paintings from a Japanese hotel is causing ructions among celebrities at home, with a Thai national artist declaring he feels ashamed and a singer apologising for linking the fuss to the King’s portrait.
As Suphat Saguandeekul, deputy director-general of the Department of Intellectual Property, prepares to return to Thailand following his release from detention in Japan on Friday, Thais are asking only half-jokingly why he didn’t attempt to take paintings in his home country rather than cause them embarrassment overseas.
Mr Suphat paid damages to the Osaka hotel where he stole the paintings, and Japanese police decided to drop charges.
Among those speaking out was national Thai artist Chalermchai Kositpipat, who said he felt ashamed about the saga and was particularly annoyed that, according to media reports, Mr Suphat chose to steal three "nondescript" paintings worth just ¥15,000 (4,600 baht).
"I am embarrassed. I am a Thai and I am ashamed," the well-known painter and architect said.
"There are plenty of pretty paintings in our country, but you didn’t steal them. If you have to steal, why don’t you choose better ... why do you have to steal crummy pictures like those? Why not take one from my Rong Khun temple in Chiang Rai? There are plenty of beautiful pictures there. I am really embarrassed, do you get it?"
Writing in a similar vein, though perhaps with a political slant, singer and red shirt sympathiser Patchara "Fluke" Thammon asked if Mr Suphat wasn’t happy with the portraits which hang on the walls of most Thai homes. He was referring to images of the King.
"You should know the meaning of self-sufficiency. Are you not happy with the Thai paintings in every house of the land, or what? Why steal paintings from someone else’s country?" he asked.
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| Fluke |
After netizens complained that Fluke was being sarcastic, he apologised and took down the post.
"I believe in the constitutional monarchy and harbour no grudges," he wrote later. An innocent remark had been taken out of context by people who can’t accept his political views, he grumbled.
Hotel staff, who spotted Mr Suphat removing the paintings from a hallway, found the small paintings in Mr Suphat’s bag as he checked out.
Rumours sprang up on social media earlier in the week that the paintings stolen include a semi-nude water colour of Japanese adult movie star Saori Hara.
The painting, reproduced from a photograph in which the actress is wearing a kimono with her breasts partially exposed, did the rounds of social media until local news outlets stepped in to deny the claims.
A report in the Japan Times, cited in local papers, says the stolen paintings were actually "nondescript scenery".
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| Not this AV star |
The hotel was unlikely to adorn its walls with an AV star, however popular she might be, the reports added. -
2. 'Benz' praises a 'smooth ride'
Actress Napapa "Pat" Thantrakul admits her motorcyclist husband likes to go racing at night, but has stopped short of naming him as the star of a mystery clip in which a speedster is going at almost 300km/h on a city motorway.
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| Benz, Pat |
Pat and her husband, Akkarakit "Benz" Worarortcharoendech, came under fire after he reposted a brief clip of a speeding motorcyclist and complimented the surface of the road he was on.
"The roads in Dubai are so smooth," he said. Netizens said the road looked more like the Don Muang tollway, as roadsigns were visible. They accused Benz of posting the clip to boast of the speed he reached, while pretending it was really taken in Dubai to appease those upset about street racers.
A camera trained on the bike’s speedometer shows it going at 260km/h. The driver cannot be seen.
Benz, who campaigns for road safety, is also an expectant father. Pat is pregnant with their first child.
Critics said only the husband of a celebrity could be so short-sighted as to drive at such speeds on a public motorway, breaking the law and annoying motorists.
Benz is a well-known racer who last year proposed to Pat on television at a racing circuit in Buri Ram.
After a hostile exchange on social media, Benz said he was gathering evidence and would meet his critics in court. They have since deleted the posts.
Asked about the fuss, Pat said those behind the Facebook site which took aim at Benz often criticise her, Benz and their unborn child, "Nong Racing", to draw attention to themselves.
"If they merely wanted to warn him about the dangers of speeding when we have a child on the way, they could have done it in politer language," she said.
He admitted Benz and his gang often go out on their bikes at night, but insists she didn’t know who was in the clip.
"Nor do I know how people can tell it’s taken on the motorway," she said.
"I have gone out with them. They usually go late when there’s not much traffic around. They often ask to try each other’s bikes.
"If you ask why they don’t confine themselves to the track, it’s because the racing circuit is closed at night.
"If it was me I wouldn’t bother suing, but he’s not used to the criticism." -
3. Sports presenter's final call
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| Tangmo, Fern |
Tangmo went on television last week to explain his shock decision to call it quits with his air stewardess wife, Fern Kewarin.
"When you are husband and wife, together 24 hours a day, it looks different from before. You get to see each other as you really are. But there were no arguments, and no third hand was involved," he said.
The person whose feelings he cared for most was Fern, he said. The pair knew each other 10 years, and saw each other for two years before tying the knot. At the end of his interview on Workpoint Television, where he works, he hugged the host in tears.
"We have spoken to seniors on both sides and they understand what happened. Both of us have watched news of other couples breaking up, but it when it comes to your own turn, it’s a hard thing to say," he said.
The pair appeared on a TV show in April last year, a month before they were married. The show, Kadee See Chompoo, asks couples provocative questions and dares them to reveal certain "truths" about each other.
Netizens, who dug up a clip of the show last week, asked if his acid comments on the show, in which he said Fern would make a hopeless housewife, had proved a thorn in their relationship.
"She can’t do housework. I am a stickler for order, but she does the dishes and leaves them dirty. She dumps used clothes in same basket as me, and sleeps in late, so we can’t get up to put food in the monk’s bowl," he said.
Asked on the show if it was true he refuses to pick up Fern at the airport from late-night flights, he said they agreed before they got together that he wouldn’t.
"If you want someone to pick you up, drop you off, go find a husband who is a taxi driver," he told her, in perhaps his best-known put-down.
Asked about his comments now, Tangmo said he was merely adding colour to the show.
"We discussed what we would say beforehand. Fern is a poor talker, so couldn’t respond in time. We didn’t argue afterwards, though have to admit some parts of the show were true," he said.
He said the couple never registered marriage as a fortune teller predicted they would quit if he did.
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