Gambler’s luck runs out
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| Sia Po, Big Joke |
Rocker Sek Loso’s former wife, Wiphakorn “Kan” Sukpimai, has wasted no time in calling up old debts after her former lover, a self-confessed gambler, was charged last week with inviting Thais to gamble and suspected money-laundering.
Kan, who earlier this month posted images of her former lover and casino gambler, Sia Po Chatharnon, taking illicit drugs, said Sia Po should repay the millions of baht he tricked out of her.
Sia Po admitted taking the drugs, but said Kan was present too. He challenged her to submit to a drugs test, after he took a urine test at his local police station and it came back clean.
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| Kan |
Talking about Sia Po’s charges over the gambling saga, Kan was unrepentant: “If that’s my money you’ve swindled, please bring it back, or you can live with the sin forever and you will never have peace,” she said in a social media message.
Kan says she lent him 60 million baht for a boxing and gambling venture, which he is still paying back.
“I recall when you came to me in a tight spot. I gave you the loan because I felt sorry for you, and if this is how you reward me, with treachery, your life won’t progress, because fate is real. See for yourself ... if you don’t return it, there will be more trouble,” she said.
Earlier, Kan said she was helping police with inquiries into claims that Sia Po and his “gang” liked to give unwitting victims drugs and trap them into gambling, film them secretly, and blackmail them.
Bang Khen police last week executed a search warrant on Sia’s Po’s Thon Buri home and called him to answer the charges, after Tourism Police alerted them to a Facebook live clip in which Sia Po, pictured at a casino across the border, allegedly invited Thais to join him for a flutter.
Immigration police chief Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, who questioned Sia Po himself, said Thais had wondered how he could get away with such blatant activity when gambling here is against the law.
Police had asked 11 people including Sia Po to come in, after their inquiries revealed he was head of an online gambling ring comprising about 300 people with 15 million baht in circulation.
“While our neighbours might have casinos, Thailand does not allow gambling, so inviting people to gamble online is illegal, even if he broadcast his FB live from across the border,” he said.
Police are also pursuing a money-laundering charge after their inquiries revealed Sia Po’s FB pointed visitors to a link via an app which takes people to a Line group inviting them to gamble.
Police say he also uses the app STAR VEGAS, which signs up people keen on gambling. Police, who posed as interested parties, say those who sign up are asked to transfer money to a bank account, which Sia Po and his friends, said to work in banking, would transfer to themselves.
Pol Maj Gen Surachate, also known as “Big Joke” after his Thai nickname, said the file would be sent to the Anti-Money Laundering Commission. If it finds the money was laundered, Sia Po’s assets would be seized.
Sia Po, who says he is a fan of Big Joke, said police had seized the 500,000 baht they found in his bank account. However, he had no other assets to be seized, just debt. He would carry on gambling across the border, as it was legal there.
“As for the FB clip, I did it without being aware of the circumstances. I had asked Big Joke via FB if I could make the clip, and didn’t get a reply, so assumed it was okay,” he said. The case continues.
Teenie tears no winner
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| Arm |
The former manager of a teen singer who left his record label to set herself up as an indie, allegedly in breach of contract, says he has no regrets about having her escorted to a police station last week.
Prachakchai Naowaras, who managed look tung singer Arm Chutima under his record label before the pair split acrimoniously last June, says he was behind a police complaint which on Oct 15 resulted in police pulling her aside at a concert in Sa Kaew.
Police asked her to accompany them to the station where Arm was charged with performing music without permission, resulting in damage to the label, Hai Thong Kam Records.
Mr Prachakchai says her contract still has two years and seven months to run, which means she cannot perform without his label’s consent. His company would also demand a share of her earnings as a return for the money it sank into making her a star.
Arm penned the hit Pu Sao Kha Loh for her friend and co-singer Lamyai Haithongkham, propelling Lamyai to overnight fame on YouTube, before being paired as a duo under Mr Prachakchai’s label. Her departure in a dispute over payments left the multi-million baht singing duo in tatters.
Since leaving she has performed in her own right, despite invitations by the other side to meet for talks.
Arm says Mr Prachakchai paid her a pittance compared to the 70-30 split they agreed, and slyly bought the rights to three of her songs, which have since become hits, without disclosing he was the owner. He signed her up when she was just 17, with the consent of her parents but without a legal adviser present.
Mr Prachakchai denied the police intervention at her concert amounted to an “arrest” as reported in the media. Arm’s new manager complained that police took her to the station late at night and without presenting a complaint, summons or even a warrant.
“I have tried for months to get her to talk, but her side refused to answer calls. I sent three warning notices, to no avail,” Mr Prachakchai said.
Police waited until she had finished performing and approached her courteously by the side of the stage. The copyright law is a “special” law, he said, which requires police to be present when the breach occurs.
Arm, who filmed the encounter with police on Facebook Live, was seen crying throughout her ordeal. Mr Prachakchai said he was aware that some critics would accuse him of making life difficult for the youngster. However, he said he wanted to set a standard in the industry for other artists who leave before their contracts run out.
“What’s wrong with waiting until the contract is finished ... playing by the rules instead of playing with them?” he asked.
“It’s not like a singer with a great voice is enough to get famous...you have to include all the other stuff such as the team behind you, the producer, marketing, the people selling the product, and PR, especially if you want to make it past the indie stage.
“She started from nothing, even though she has a talent for writing songs. I am the investor who brought her from the provinces to Bangkok and laid the foundations for what you see today,” he said, adding he would ask for 2 million baht if she wanted to buy herself out of the contract.
Mr Prachakchai said he had drawn up a draft agreement in which his label would let her perform shows she had already accepted. After that, however, any new “queue” of work would have to pass the approval of his label. The sides were due to go before the media yesterday afternoon to discuss details of a deal they had reached.
Singer faces down menace
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| Tanya |
Singer Tanya R Siam suspects a conflict of interest stemming from her career is behind a series of threats she is getting on social media.
The look tung singer, also known as Daraphat Thaweenan, visited Technology Crime Suppression police to alert them to threats she has received on Instagram for the past year.
“It is getting more serious," she said.
"Earlier this month, an IG user calling himself Somsai 2523 sent me a message, and a similar one to friends at university saying he would take us, and that it wouldn’t end there.
"I am scared for my safety, as I live alone with my mother.”
She suspects the threatening messages stem from a clash of interests over her singing.
“I have no evidence yet, but my label suggested I contact police to see if it is the person I suspect.”
She handed over a copy of the IG exchanges to police, one of which read: “Don’t go thinking you are clever. Come and face me. Do u think some Buddhist amulet can stop me? No way.”
Asked about the amulet reference, Tanya declined to answer questions about “supernatural” phenomena, but urged fans not to discount them.
The culprit sent a similar message to university friend, Paeng, saying: “You will be with me for sure.”
Tanya said the culprit could be the same one who sent threatening messages last month to singer Nuch R Siam, or Wilawan Somboon, also from her music label.
Police said the IG account has now been closed. They said they will expand their probe to find who is responsible.
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