Thongpoon Panthong went to every court hearing after the crash. But it was the most recent one, on Feb 1, that hurt her the most.
The court had called in Orachorn “Praewa” Thephasadin Na Ayudhya to ask about the community service — just 48 hours a year — that she has allegedly failed to complete.
Ms Thongpoon’s daughter, 37-year-old Naruemol Pittatanang, was driving the passenger van that was hit by Ms Orachorn’s white Honda Civic on the night of Dec 27, 2010.
Naruemol was one of nine people who were killed in the accident.
Ms Orachorn, who at 16 years old was not even eligible to hold a licence at the time, was eventually found guilty of reckless driving causing death, although her prison sentence was suspended.
When Ms Orachorn’s lawyer — her own uncle — stood up to defend his niece at the recent hearing, he pointed his finger directly at Ms Thongpoon. Everything that happened, he proclaimed, was her daughter’s fault.
“It hurt me to know that after all this time, they still can’t admit that it is [Ms Orachorn’s] fault,” Ms Thongpoon said. “We are all willing to forgive Praewa since no one wanted the accident to happen. But for her to be so unapologetic like this, she doesn’t deserve anything.”
Warunyoo Ketchu couldn’t walk properly for more than a year after the accident. He was in hospital recovering from a broken collarbone, torn knee ligament and laceration to his right arm when Praewa made her one and only visit, along with her mother.
Ms Orachorn, he said, failed to utter a single word throughout the brief encounter.
A nurse later told Mr Warunyoo that Ms Orachorn had asked for a wheelchair before she entered his room, despite being able to walk. “Her mother told [Ms Orachorn] to show me where she was injured, which was only a few minor bruises, and then told her to hold her hands up in a wai. It really shows how she was raised,” Mr Warunyoo said.
Mr Warunyoo, now 26, described the first few years after the accident as “terrible”, saying he would frequently become frustrated and angry.
The frequent court visits annoyed him, and eventually he stopped going as it made him feel mentally drained.
Images of the accident still haunt him whenever he travels by van.
“While juvenile cases focus on giving the accused a chance to redeem themselves, it fails to provide support for victims. I received no psychological support at all,” he said.
“Rehabilitation for victims doesn’t only translate into money. Five years have gone by, but there hasn’t been a single apology from her.
“She has shown no remorse at all.”
Ms Orachorn was thrust back into the spotlight last week when it emerged publicly that she had allegedly failed to complete her community service, a key condition for the suspension of her prison term. Her family has contested the allegations and accused the Parole Department of "threatening" Ms Orachorn.
In November last year, the Civil Court ordered Ms Orachorn to pay around 27 million baht in compensation to the victims of the accident, including 3,000 baht for Mr Warunyoo’s mother.
So far, the victims say they have not received any of that money, while those who had expected a higher payment are appealing the decision.
Wisarut Bholsithi is one of those victims. The 41-year-old assistant researcher at the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre was asleep in the front passenger seat of the van when the accident occurred.
Mr Wisarut considers himself lucky to have only suffered minor injuries. But he refuses to talk about Ms Orachorn, saying only that she visited him once while he was in hospital.
“I don’t want to hear her name again,” he said. “What I do know is that she has to do what is right for the victims, who have suffered severely. She knows what she needs to do.”
Tawin Chaotieng, 68, spent every spare baht from her life as a flower seller in Ratchaburi caring for her adopted son, Sastra Chaotieng. When Sastra was killed in the van accident, it left her life empty.
Ms Tawin suffers from multiple medical complications, and was too sick to attend the court hearings.
But she said Ms Orachorn has made no effort to reach out and apologise for what happened.
“Ever since the accident, Praewa didn’t contact or show respect to any of us. The only time she did that was when the court ordered her to send us flowers as an apology,” Ms Tawin said. “She did that because of the court order, not from her own sincerity.”
Ms Tawin told the Bangkok Post Sunday that Ms Orachorn’s mother came to Sastra’s funeral and gave her 40,000 baht to “help make merit”. That was the last time she heard from the family.
Ms Tawin still sells flowers at a market near her home, even though her poor health makes moving around difficult. She said her son once sent her 8,000 baht a month, but she can now scrape together only 100-200 baht a day — barely enough to eat.
Sastra used to help his mother sell flowers on his way to school and again after school was finished. Miss Tawin expected to rely on him for support in her old age after he was awarded a prestigious King’s Scholarship to study in the UK for 10 years.
He returned with a PhD and began work at the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. He had been there four years when he was killed.
“He will always be with me,” Ms Tawin said, wiping a tear from her face as she clutched a picture of Sastra.
“I can forgive Praewa, but I won’t forget what she has done to my son.”
Ms Thongpoon and the other families all make it clear that they care more about justice than money.
“I want Praewa and everyone to know that a person who committed a crime will be punished,” Ms Thongpoon said. “We are all equal, no one should be above the law no matter how rich or powerful they are.”