Laem gears for battle over dowry and cows, Am shaves head in cancer fight

The cows have seen it all

Laem's parents, Kay

The family of world boxing champ Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (“Laem”) and his former betrothed are arguing over the fate of the couple’s marriage dowry, now their relationship has hit the rocks.

Both sides of the estranged family declared in media interviews last week they would claim several times the worth of the marriage dowry agreed recently after the other party was allegedly unfaithful.

The drama comes after the boxer’s betrothed, Patchareewan “Kay” Kanha, 30, announced on social media that she and Laem had decided to end their 15-year romance, barely weeks after they had tried on wedding outfits for the big day.

As fans recoiled in shock and Kay insisted they parted amicably, trouble was already brewing behind the scenes. 

Laem’s family, who spoke to reporters from their unadorned family home in Sri Sa Ket, said they had made a down payment on the multi-million baht dowry at the centre of the row. 

Both sides had agreed that if Laem or Kay found someone new before they tied the not, in an Isan-style agreement, that family would be liable for compensation for the other’s loss of face.

While Kay claims both sides have found someone new, she is vague about who made the leap from monogamy first. In a call to her parents Somyos and Nokkaew Kanha on May 9, the day they decided to part, she claimed they were splitting up because Laem had been unfaithful.  

She said the spare alloy wheels from his Toyota Fortuner had gone missing and she suspects the boxing champ had quietly sold them to pay for the upkeep of his new fling. Worse, she said, Laem had gone to police to complain she had misappropriated millions of baht in prize winnings from his bank account.

“Kay says he left home with his clothes, but didn’t sleep at the boxing camp. Laem also accused her of having found someone new, but we know it can’t be true, as she spends all her time at their city condo, and rarely goes out,” said Mr Somyos.

He said he had earlier obtained from a monk an auspicious date for the couple’s wedding, but Laem told him he couldn’t make it as he was busy training. “That upset me, and I felt even worse when Kay told us about the police complaint,” he said.

Kay also spoke to her mother, telling Mrs Nokkaew that the pair had divided their assets, with Laem agreeing to let her mother have 1 million baht to buy 8 rai of farmland in the province.

The version of events recalled by Laem’s parents, needless to say, is dramatically different.

Drawing the contrast further, one unkind media report said Kay’s parents lived in a house in the same province which had recently been done up, in contrast to the sad state of the home occupied by Laem’s parents, who do not appear to have benefited as much from their son’s prize winnings.

In a television interview, his parents, Jiamsak Wangake and Noorat Wangake, said their son contacted them on the day of their break-up to say Kay’s parents were likely to sue for compensation after he broke off their engagement.

“Kay’s parents said they would sue over the dowry, claiming 1 million baht, plus another 500,000 baht, and 20 baht weight in gold,” Mr Jiamsak said. He had made a down payment of 30,000 baht and 5 baht’s weight of gold to seal the deal.

“Kay’s mother said she also wanted us to return four cows they had asked us to raise on their behalf.

“She had asked me to raise them as they were heading to Bangkok to stay with Kay. But now they were splitting up, she wanted them back. What will the neighbours say if I have to return the cows? It’s embarrassing,” Mr Jiamsak grumbled.

“We called Laem and asked if he wanted to keep the cows, and he said no, and my wife said just let her have them,” he said.

Mr Jiamsak insisted his son had not found anyone new. “If that was true, why would he ask for her hand at the airport that day, in front of so many witnesses?’ he asked, referring to the day he proposed.

Laem, one other

The couple also said Kay had returned to Laem’s account about 2 million baht, from a total of 3 million baht which she allegedly took on the sly via his internet banking account. These missing funds appear to have formed the basis of Laem’s police complaint.

Mr Jiamsak reckons his son has given up 6-7 million of his prize winnings to Kay or her family. 

He says Laem bought Kay a condo in Thon Buri worth 3.7 million baht, which she keeps. He also bought farming land worth 1.2m baht for Kay’s mother, bought her four cows worth B300,000, did up their home for 1.2 million baht, and gave them another 1m baht cash.

“I will never agree to their dowry demand, and in fact will counter-sue, as Kay found someone new first,” he vowed.

Kay, who published a picture of her new admirer, has not commented on the claims. In remarks shortly after their break-up she denied a third hand was behind the drama. She said they broke up because both sides had started talking to someone new.

Bare-headed for a cause

Am

Newsreader Sarocha “Am” Pornudomsak has shaved her head as she fights breast cancer rather than suffer the indignity of losing the hair gradually during chemotherapy treatment.

Am had her hairdresser shave her head bare in a live social media broadcast on May 11, ahead of her first chemo session at Chulalongkorn Hospital. “I was curious to know what someone with a round face like mine would look like,” she wrote about her plight.

“I decided this was better than slowly waiting to see if my hair was falling out as a result of exposure to chemo,” she said. Am said fans had contacted her to say she looked great. She had an operation to remove cancerous tissue at the hospital early last month, and last week was to start an eight-month course of chemo to boost her chances.

The freelance broadcaster, best known for co-presenting a weekly anti-Thaksin Shinawatra TV show in 2003-2006 with firebrand media tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul, said she replies to all messages of support. One message in particular had moved her.

A mother wrote to her saying her young daughter was a fan. After growing her hair long for years, her daughter had cut it short recently. She wanted to send it to Am so she could have the hair made into a wig to hide her embarrassment. “I read it and cried. I never thought I would have a fan prepared to go to these lengths for me,” Am said.

“I turned down her request. When I had my hair cut off I decided to let it be how it must be ... that of a cancer sufferer. When we can no longer escape it, I will stand confront the problem directly. So I asked the mother to pass on her daughter’s beautiful hair to another sufferer who might make more use of  it.” Fans applauded the plucky broadcaster for her stance.