Ex-medium offers solace to singer
Veteran luk tung singer Siriporn “Nang” Ampaipong is standing by her decision to leave her husband of 19 years, saying he was drawing too close to their adopted daughter of eight years but won’t admit it.
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| Ko, Orn and Nang |
“They have argued like a couple in my home, and I have seen them kiss,” she told the media last week as the two sides traded verbal blows.
She denies claims by her ex-husband, itinerant musician Thanachart “Ko” Sumnomahaudom that she had fallen under the influence of a wealthy merit-maker and former medium, “Lek”, who is tying to poison her against her family.
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| Nang and Lek, in the torquise |
Festering problems between the couple came to light after their adopted daughter Ornapa “Orn” Ampaipong (Duangdee), whom Nang had entrusted to run her cosmetic surgery clinic, complained on social media earlier this month that Nang had walked out on them.
Orn opened up about the family’s problems after Nang declared abruptly on Facebook that she was closing the 10 million baht Phornnita clinic, selling her possessions and moving overseas. She said anyone who solicited business for the clinic on her behalf was acting improperly.
Orn complained that Nang had walked out without notice, upsetting customers, some of whom had travelled from overseas. She had also abandoned her and Ko, even though he was ill with stage four colon cancer.
Insisting she deserved to be treated better, Orn says she was running the clinic on Nang’s behalf, looking after her two young relatives at their home, and also caring for her husband.
She also suggested Nang had fallen under the influence of her close friend “Lek”, supposedly a millionairess who also runs a stone foundry and diamond business.
“They go everywhere together. Lek buys her expensive gifts and they stay together at a temple Mum is building in Udon Thani. Lek is trying to drive out of Mum’s life all the people who care for her, and tells everyone she meets that Ko and I are behaving inappropriately,” she said.
After Orn went on television to air her claims, Nang responded in kind, saying she left after an argument with her ex-husband over Orn, after the two drew too close.
“All Ko can do is talk about Orn ... I left after arguing with him about her. Normally, no woman can boss him around, but this one can. She can both sit in and drive his BMW. He praises her for looking after him during his illness, but he’s never mentioned me and what I’ve done for him,” she grumbled.
“Orn’s parents are ill, but she won’t go to care for them. She cares for Ko instead because she feels sorry for him; but she feels sorry for him even when he is well,” she said.
Asked about Ko’s ties to Orn, she said she had ticked him off once after he wiped her mouth at a restaurant. “I have noticed it going on for ages but never really seen it as I wanted to think on the positive side,” she said, insisting the couple’s problems over Orn started before she left home or met Lek.
“We have been together 19 years and he started showing his stripes in year one or two. He has loved women in my life before ... adopted children, relatives. He is not the sort who goes outside home to chase women; he sees them at home instead.
“I raised another woman as an adopted daughter for six years. He drew too close to her too, but in this case she admitted it and prostrated herself at my feet after arguing with Ko, when it became clear he would not choose her over me. I have been waiting for Ko and Orn to show the same contrition, but they won’t. Instead they accuse me of falling victim to sorcery,” she said.
On a lighter note, the veteran singer added the bizarre claim that Ko had wrung out of her 1 million baht after she offered to pay him 500,000 baht every time he swore. She wanted him to stop swearing, and said she’d pay him every time he did it on the basis he wouldn’t want to see her part with money unnecessarily. However, he kept swearing anyway.
Friends and relatives on Nang’s side have come forward to back the singer’s claims. Among them was a relative, Perl, 39, who says mystery figure “Lek” is not a third hand breaking up Nang’s marriage but a mere friend in need when the veteran singer is feeling down. She said relatives had tried to clear up problems between the couple, but Ko spurned their advances, saying he would prefer to talk to a lawyer about dividing up her assets.
Meanwhile, Daownoy Petchbuppha, former head of the singer’s dancing troupe, said he had seen Ko and Orn sleep in the same bedroom together at Nang’s house in Udon Thani four years ago, following a concert. Nang slept in another room.
The luk tung singer says she has already given Ko a house on their property in the Bung Kum area, two cars including a BMW, and paid his 2 million baht cancer treatment costs.
Meanwhile, netizens have unearthed family pictures of Ko and Orn which in ordinary circumstances might look innocent enough but which they say point to the closeness of their relationship.
Ko, for his part, admits having a wandering eye in his day, but denies anything is amiss in his relationship with Orn, who has lived in the couple’s home for eight years. He insists he loves her merely as an adopted daughter and says his wife is too susceptible to what others say.
“I would like to ask Nang: who wrote this script for you? People are condemning me as a dirty old man, but I can’t compete with her as I am just an ordinary Joe with no star power,” he said.
Nang opened the clinic to media fanfare last year, saying she was making the investment on behalf of Orn. The opening also marked the first time she formally took Orn before the media as her adopted daughter, though the two had been together for years, with Orn accompanying the singer to her concerts.
Orn asked why Nang would open the clinic for her if she was really unhappy about her and Ko. She challenged Lek to stop “hiding” and declare her interest in Nang. The saga continues.
Where actors rarely dare to tread
Actor Prama “Punjan” Imanotai has apologised for controversial political comments after negative backlash affected his latest movie.
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| Punjan |
Speaking at the opening last week of his movie Love Battle, Punjan admitted his comments early this month had affected the production, and asked the public to give it another chance. Some fans threatened to boycott the movie after Punjan’s outspoken stance, in which he took a poke at critics of the military government who claim it tried to pass down power to hand-chosen successors.
In his Facebook post, since deleted, Punjan said: “The National Council for Peace and Order was in power for four or five years, I heard you say they were hanging on to power. So, now they get another three years, and they are still hanging on to power.
“So the ones who were busy handing down power to themselves to the point where their children have graduated and now driving supercars ... what’s that? I can’t see any politicians who lead regular lives. Some of them get their capital from their parents, who derive it from the people; so, stop complaining. Make a living, and if you make a lot of money, help others or make merit; don’t go drinking and partying every night,” he wrote.
Critics say the remarks were clearly aimed at political dynasties such as the Shinawatra clan, with much reaction splitting along party lines. Others said that as a public figure, Punjan should avoid commenting on politics. The backlash was so strong it spurred a Twitter hashtag, #savepunjan.
Among those who spoke in his favour, however, was Palang Pracharath Party MP Watanya Wongopasi, affectionately known as “Madam Dear”, who said the meaning of true democracy was to respect a diversity of views.
Offering his apology to the film’s producer, cast, crew, and his fans, Punjan said he was aware his remarks had left their mark, but urged the public not to take it out on those involved.
“I would like people to keep an open mind towards all those who worked hard on the film, and give them a chance,” he said. Media reports say the film has suffered at the box office since its opening, with director Wirat Hengkongdee, writing on Facebook, lamenting his bad luck.
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