Praewa's family to sell land to raise crash victim money

Suchai Thephasadin na Ayudhaya, secretary of the Thephasadin clan, shows a 500,000-baht cheque his clan will give to the victims' families at a briefing on Thursday. (Photo by Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
Suchai Thephasadin na Ayudhaya, secretary of the Thephasadin clan, shows a 500,000-baht cheque his clan will give to the victims' families at a briefing on Thursday. (Photo by Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)

The mother of Orachorn "Praewa" Thephasadin na Ayudhya has promised to sell the family's land to raise money to pay the 24.76 million baht in compensation ordered for the families of the dead and injured victims of her young daughter's horrific car crash in 2010.

Ladawan Thephasadin na Ayudhya told a TV interviewer on Thursday that her family would sell 21-rai of land worth about 50 million baht in Pran Buri district of Prachuap Khiri Khan. If that was not enough, they would sell another 300-square-wa worth about 55 million baht in Muang Thong Thani housing estate in Nonthaburi province.

She said the family did not pay right away because it did not have enough cash. She suggested the Justice Ministry use its justice fund for quick compensation payment, and her family would later reimburse it.

Mrs Ladawan was adamant the family intended to pay the compensation. She apologised to the victims and their families, saying her family shared the suffering of the victims. Her daughter suffered from depression, and the whole family depended on sleeping pills.

On the night of Dec 27, 2010, Orachorn drove her car into the back of a passenger van on the Don Muang Tollway near Kasetsart University. Nine people were killed, some falling to the ground below the elevated tollway, and the others in the van were injured.

Orachorn was only slightly injured. She was 16 at the time, and not eligible to hold a licence. She was seen in photos posted on social media standing beside her car and talking on the phone after the crash 

In April 2014, the Appeal Court sentenced her to two years in jail, suspended the sentence for four years, put her on probation for three years, and ordered her to do 144 hours of community service over the three years. She was prohibited from driving until the age of 25, her age this year. 

The Supreme Court ordered her and her parents to pay 24.76 million baht compensation to the affected families. There were 28 plaintiffs in the civil case.

Learn from listening

Click play to listen to audio for this story, or download to save the file
: :

Vocabulary

  • adamant: determined not to change  your belief or decision about something - ยืนกราน
  • compensation: money that someone receives because something bad has happened to them - เงินชดเชย
  • depression: a medical condition in which a person is so unhappy that they cannot live a normal life - ความสะเทือนใจ, ความเศร้าสลด, ความหดหู่
  • elevated: raised above the ground, or higher than the surrounding area - ซึ่งอยู่ในระดับที่สูงกว่าสิ่งอื่น
  • eligible: allowed by rules or laws to do something or to receive something - มีสิทธิ
  • fund: money provided for something - เงินทุน กองทุน
  • plaintiff: someone who makes a legal complaint against someone else in court - โจทก์
  • probation (noun): a system by which someone who has committed a crime is not sent to prison, but has to agree not to break the law again - การภาคทัณฑ์
  • reimburse: to make a payment to someone who has spent or lost money on something - ชำระเงินคืน
  • supreme court: the highest court in a country - ศาลฎีกา, ศาลสูงสุด
  • suspend a sentence: a situation when the court decides that the person who has been proven guilty of a crime does not have to undergo the punishment given, usually under certain conditions - รอลงอาญา

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT
MORE IN SECTION