Prapan Hetrakul, founder of Yakult Thailand and the first editor-in-chief of the Thai-language <i>Daily News</i>, has died at the age of 84.
Kittipan Hetrakul, Prapan’s son and director of Daily News’s marketing and distribution department, said Sunday his father died peacefully at 9pm on Saturday. He did not give details about the cause of his death.
Founder of Yakult Thailand Prapan Hetrakul with his daughter Kanokpan, who was named as new Yakult Thailand president last year. (Bangkok Post file photo)
The bathing rite will be held at 5pm Monday at Wat Sommanas Ratchaworawihan in Pomprap Sattruphai district, while the chanting rite begins at 7pm and will continue at the same time until Sunday.
Prapan was the second of 12 siblings of legendary journalist Saeng Hetrakul and his wife Saikee, who founded Daily News, Thailand's second-largest daily, in the early 60s.
He graduated from Assumption Commerce College and became the first Thai and foreign student to receive a scholarship from Kobe University in Japan. Prapan was named best alumnus by Kobe university last year.
After graduating with an honours degree in business administration, he returned to Thailand to help his parents establish Si-Phya Publishing Co, the owner of Daily News, and served as the first editor-in-chief of the newspaper which was launched in 1964.
In 1970, Prapan pioneered and founded Yakult Thailand, which later became Thailand's leading yoghurt drink company in a multi-billion-baht market. Last year, sales volume of the 46-year-old company ranked fourth among the 33 countries where the Japanese drink maker operates, after Japan, South Korea and China.
Prapan is survived by his wife, one son and two daughters.