Actress's road rage
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| Yard |
Actress Yardthip “Yard” Rachapal has given in to a taxi driver’s demands she surrender 20,000 baht, in addition to an insurance payout, after her BMW struck the rear of his vehicle, forcing it off the road.
The payout comes amid claims the driver, known as Man, tried to extort money from the actress by threatening her with bad publicity unless she cooperated.
Yard’s friend, Krissada Manosudprasit, who was driving the car during the Dec 6 accident in the Bang Lamphu area of Klong San district of Bangkok, came up with the payment last Monday after Man complained to police the pair had refused to help, even though he was left without an income as a driver.
Man, who is renting his vehicle, said he had to pay the taxi’s owner 600 baht a day and was having trouble making ends meet. After Yard’s BMW struck his taxi, forcing him into the rear of another car, she refused to get out of the vehicle, and could be seen arguing with her companion, Mr Krissada, who was in the driver’s seat, he said.
After initially getting no satisfaction from the pair, Man also complained to a TV station, which aired his allegations that Yard had refused to compensate him for the damage.
The saga set off several days of recriminations between the parties, culminating in Man and Mr Krissada laying complaints against each other with police.
Yard, who came forward after the TV show coverage to admit she was in the passenger seat of the BMW, denied Man’s claims that she or her friend Mr Krissada refused to help.
“He was driving the vehicle for me as we had been to a birthday party and I had a bit to drink. Mr Krissada offered 10,000 baht up front as a goodwill payment, but the taxi driver refused it," she said.
“We called the police and insurance company guy, who took down details of the scrape. My policy covers damage to all three vehicles. We offered the cash as an upfront, additional payment, but the driver knocked us back, saying it would not be enough.
“Two days later he called my mother to demand 20,000 baht, saying the accident forced him off the road and he had expenses to meet.”
Yard admitted she was reluctant to get out of the vehicle as Mr Krissada had caused the accident, and she was afraid of bad publicity. Mr Krissada sent her home in a taxi following the accident.
“I was upset with Krissada for causing the accident, but was not drunk as claimed, and nor did I try to stop him calling my mother,” she said, denying claims aired by the TV show. “The driver has distorted the facts and damaged my name.”
Mr Krissada was just as unhappy with the way events were unfolding, claiming when he called the driver at home he heard a woman in the background asking why they were unwilling to help when Yard was an actress and well-off. “We are trying to keep it out of the news [but you’re refusing to pay],” she was heard grumbling.
“I think we are being exploited. If it was an ordinary woman in the car, not an actress, I doubt things would have escalated this far, and no one would be making such big demands,” Mr Krissada said.
Defending Yardthip’s role in the saga, Mr Krissada laid a complaint against Man with Thong Lor police.
By Monday, however, he decided to nip the problem in the bud, agreeing to meet Man at Samre police station to hand over the 20,000 baht requested.
After asking Man to clear up some of the allegations swirling about the affair, the taxi driver sheepishly agreed he had not seen the pair arguing but was told that by someone else at the scene. He also denied trying to extort any money from the actress.
Businessman in kidnap saga
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| Champ, Janie |
His partner, Pariya Saenmuang, or Janie Janila, 21, a former actress, laid a complaint with Udomsuk police after Champ turned up at her home in the Prawet area on Dec 8 and took their child without her consent.
She also claims he knocked her to the ground after the pair argued. “I put up a struggle but did not try to hang on too hard to our son Aston in case I hurt him,” she said. “After pushing. me to one side he took the boy, jumped over the fence and took off in his car.”
Janie’s case emerged on a popular Facebook site accompanied by pictures of her with a bleeding head wound. She admitted later those pictures were about two years old, but said Champ, who has a hot temper, had assaulted her before.
The former actress said Champ wanted to take Aston, who feeds on her breast milk, on a trip with him to Japan. However, he was forced to cancel it after she and he argued.
“My mother and two friends were here when he turned up, but he took the child anyway,” she said, adding the pair had been at odds for the past month.
Two days after the saga broke in the media, Champ’s parents returned Aston to her at home. Janie, who was relieved to get Aston back, said she spoke to Champ, who apologised.
“I am only just through my pregnancy, and he works hard. We took out our stress on each other. I love him but will find it hard to forgive and will worry about a repeat of what happened.
“If we can carry on seeing each other, he can visit Aston and help with the cost of raising him, but I will raise him here, as the environment at my place is much better,” she said.
The pair were not legally married, and she would not comment on whether he had yet registered the birth of the child. “If he wants to go ahead with that, great, but he should do it for our son, for me. I am taking things one day at a time.”
Champ’s family, who hail from Chiang Mai, are no strangers to legal scrapes. Champ organised an ill-fated New Year’s party on Patong beach in 2012 which led to a rash of legal disputes with its promoter and a pair of TV presenters.
Champ’s sister, Namwan, is also involved in legal battles after a court found she and her mother Ampaipan defamed director Panita ‘‘Ning’’ Tumwattana after a clash at a city eatery in 2013.
The young businessman, who wrote on Facebook he was just a simple guy who loved fast cars and private islands, has declined to talk to the media about his clash with the mother of his child.
Udomsuk police said they would call in Janie again to make sure she wants to pursue action as she was not bearing physical injuries at the time of her complaint. Champ’s parents and Janie would also be called in for a family conference under the Domestic Violence Victim Protection Act.
Contestant was 'just being herself'
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| Maria |
Miss Universe contestant Maria Poonlertlarp, back in Bangkok after last month’s pageant, admits she was stumped by a question about social movements which many think cost her Thailand’s chance at the crown.
Maria, who made it to the final five, the best performance by a Thai contestant in 29 years, said the question from the stage threw her, and she still felt stunned by it several days after the competition ended.
She was asked: “What do you think has been the most important social movement of your generation, and why?” Her answer was: “I think the most important social movement, so far, is that we’re having an ageing population. So the most important movement in our time is definitely the youth.”
On the internet, critics say Maria should have mentioned social movements relating to gender and economics, such as LGBT or Occupy Wall Street, rather than young people, who are not a movement for change as such.
“I didn’t give the answer expected,” Maria admitted upon her return last week as she met her fans at Suvarnabhumi airport.
“Thailand has no social movements. But that has boosted my resolve to do more. I want to get people interested in this side of things,” she said. “I want everyone’s help in campaigning on the issue of teen pregnancy.”
Maria said she felt disappointed by the result when she left the stage. However, looking back now, she thinks she did well.
“I didn’t do anything wrong on stage as I was just being myself. I am also saddened to hear some people suggesting my dress might have hurt my chances, because I was happy with everything I wore,” she said, responding to claims that her outfit, by designer Polpat Asavaprapa, or Moo Asava, was too revealing.
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