Blame game steps up
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| Aerk |
A close friend of former sexy model and socialite Kae Lederer has come forward to deny any part in her decision to take her own life, insisting they were still close and the blame may lie with her hi-so fiancee’s family.
Ongart “Aerk” Lederer gave a series of media interviews to counter what he says was a campaign of misinformation designed to discredit him after Kae took her own life earlier this month by jumping from her Wang Thong Lang beauty clinic.
Aerk said he emerged as the villain in the early days of the soap opera-like saga, after Kae accused him in a suicide note of using her name to solicit money and defraud people. The suicide note has yet to make its way into the hands of police.
Separately, Kae, also known as Kae Laprim or Kanyakorn Supkankarcharoen, 30, gave a TV interview the day before she took her life in which she castigated Aerk in similar terms.
Her friends say CCTV footage at the clinic shows she jumped from the building’s third storey on the evening of Sept 7, after initially taking weed-killer but finding the pain too much to bear. She was taken to hospital but died the next day from her injuries.
Aerk suggested she may not have intended to take her life but merely draw attention to herself. He acknowledged she was under pressure but denied he had added to her problems.
He denied claims, spread by a muck-raking social media site which claims to have seen the suicide note, that he had quietly pocketed 14 million baht intended for a Lamborghini, made off with her 1 million baht engagement dowry, and tried to sell her home.
Aerk suggested Kae’s problems may stem from pressure exerted by her fiancee’s family. They accused him and Kae of defrauding the beauty clinic firm they run, after the fiancee’s family took a large stake in the business.
Kae was said to be engaged at the time of her death to businessman Soonyata “Paul” Mutitanan, who runs a high-end car care business and also replaced Aerk as major shareholder of the beauty care clinic’s Ram Intra branch.
At her request, Aerk was left running the second branch in Bang Na, after previously being CEO of both.
At the time Aerk and Kae were doing up both branches, and had raised 14 million baht from shareholders to get the work one.
“I raised all the money, as Kae had credit problems stemming from a Security Exchange Commission case against her a couple of years ago. However, she was worried about the pressure this put me under, so decided to tell Paul’s family that we had argued, so they would have to come forward and support the clinic financially instead,” he said.
While he has no explanation for why Kae would criticise him in the TV interview and suicide note days before her death, he suggests problems with her fiancee’s family might have triggered her decision.
He insists the pair were still close when she took her own life and had never argued. Aerk said he had started repaying the 14 million baht, but had himself come under pressure from Paul’s family, who had contacted him after taking their shareholding to complain the money had gone missing from Kae’s account.
“I agreed to sign taking sole responsibility for the debt, even though we spent the money doing up both branches together. I didn’t want anyone to argue, and we had also failed to do the paperwork properly at the time. I forgot to tell the other shareholders how we were spending the money. In fact, Kae would transfer the funds to me from our joint account,” he said.
As for claims that he had tried to block the media from her funeral, after large screens were erected around the temple pavilion where her body was kept, Aerk said Kae’s brother had confirmed that Paul’s family, not Aerk, was behind the move.
He said he welcomed scrutiny of the company’s business dealings and added that Kae’s phone and notebook computer had mysteriously gone missing from her clinic at the time of her death.
“I had no access to the place after being removed as CEO,” he said. Aerk also asked if she had written the suicide note under pressure. Police are investigating.
Bike tragedy splits families
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| Chai |
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| Tiw |
Two families are bickering over who is to blame after their sons died in a motorcycle accident on the Memorial Bridge last week.
Thitiwat “Chai” Theerapap, 19, a student, supporting actor, and big bike fan, and Thanawat “Tiw” Sukcharoen 18, also a student, died when their motorcycles collided on the bridge early last Tuesday.
Chai was heading from the Phra Nakhon side to the Thon Buri side when he encountered Tiw in the same lane heading in the opposite direction.
Chai was a fan of doing wheelies on his big bike, and had posted clips on his social media account of teens racing and larking about on the three-lane Memorial Bridge. However, his friends say he was not grandstanding on the night of the accident.
CCTV footage shows him in the middle lane, attempting to take over a bus which was on the left. Chai had been out with a group of three friends but had driven off alone.
Tiw, meanwhile, had just dropped his girlfriend off at her place and was heading home when his bike came across Chai’s. He appeared to be astride both his lane and the middle one occupied by Chai.
One commentator suggested he may have been confused by the sight on a lone motorcyclist parked by the side of the bridge in the right lane and thought wrongly that the middle lane was his to occupy.
While two lanes were open to traffic heading to the Thon Buri side, the footage shows Chai was veering out of his lane and into Tiw’s lane at the time of the accident. The impact of the collision forced Tiw into the path of the bus, though both young men died at the scene.
Tiw’s father, Thanapoom, a rescue worker, said he heard about the accident about 2am. “I couldn’t believe the news, as I attend accident scenes, and warn my son often. “I never thought I would have to go and collect my own son’s body,” he said in tears.
He was not in favour of taking legal action against the other side and in the initial hours after the accident urged Chai’s family to make contact so they could talk about their shared loss. His girlfriend, Pimpakan “Mai” Nangam, said Tiw did not race and was careful on the road.
A friend of Chai’s, meanwhile, said Tiw was in the wrong lane, and denies Chai was misbehaving on the road. Nattaphon Rungrot said he and his friends like to take video clips of their travels, and on the night of the accident had met at Pran Nok, carried on to Nakhon Pathom, and returned to the bridge.
“It was my first time at the bridge, but we weren’t racing or doing wheelies,” he said, while admitting that Chai liked grandstanding and that his friends had warned him against doing wheelies in the past.
Smartphone camera footage obtained from a witness at the scene suggests otherwise. The footage, posted by Amarin TV, It shows Chai doing wheelies seconds before the crash.
Meanwhile, director Poj Anon denied media reports that Chai was a supporting actor in his Luang Pee Jazz movies. “I have never seen him on set, not even for one day. Journalists just want to sell news and never bother checking, even in this day and age,” he grumbled.
Pol Lt Col Danchai Toolong, deputy chief at Pak Klong San station, said officers were still gathering evidence and no charges had been laid. If either side is found to have driven recklessly, his family could be liable for compensation under the law.
Noom’s sitting room wedding
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| Tik, Noom, both seated |
Heartthrob actor Sornram “Noom” Theappitak has married his latest love, actress Kanissarin “Tik” Patcharapakdeechot, in a 10 minute ceremony broadcast live on social media, and confirmed news hours later that she was pregnant.
The simple wedding ceremony broadcast on Instagram comes after after a racy website reported he had made her pregnant and planned a shotgun wedding.
Images show the pair, Noom wearing a suit and his bride in a Thai traditional silk dress, paying respect at the feet of respected guests, including his parents, film director Chatrichalerm Yukol, and veteran actor Sorapong Chatree.
The website which broke the news of the shotgun wedding plans added that Noom, whom it did not name directly, was also planning to build a 10 million baht bridal home for his beloved.
Tik, former winner of the Big Brother reality show and a muscly stunt-woman in TV soaps, earlier refused to confirm or deny the rumours, though in one image making merit with Noom was seen to be cradling her stomach. Fans took this as a tell-tale sign she was pregnant.
After the wedding broadcast, Noom posted images of Tik getting an ultrasound test. He said he was looking forward to the arrival of “Sornram Junior”.
The pair, who enjoy making merit and exercising together, are said to be long-term friends though their nuptials still took fans by surprise.
Romeo Noom stopped seeing actress Nicole “Nicky” Theriault in March, though after that was also linked briefly with beauty queen Thaveepon ‘‘Namfon’’Areesawat.
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