Jeab dumps hubby, Muay goes quiet, Marsha's pest, Daew's fling

Jeab dumps hubby, Muay goes quiet, Marsha's pest, Daew's fling

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE

Thing for young men backfires

Country music singer Jeab Benjaporn "R Siam" is vowing to divorce her husband after he took off with another woman, sparking a row with the young man's family over debts.

Jeab, who has spent the past few days arguing with her estranged husband's family through the media, is now appealing to the young woman he started seeing secretly to come forward, after he left her in the lurch at a pre-engagement ceremony this month, apparently when it became clear that he was still married to Jeab.

Thawatchai 'Fluke' Kongmun and Jeab Benjaporn 'R Siam'

The row started when Jeab, 48, posted to Facebook on Dec 9 saying her husband, Thawatchai "Fluke" Kongmun, 21, had gone missing for three days from their Surat Thani home with her Fortuner and appealing to fans for news of his whereabouts.

Jeab said she heard about him next through the media on Dec 13, when the family of a young woman he had been seeing on the sly, known as "B" in the media, laid a complaint with police in Chumpon claiming Fluke had called a lavish pre-engagement function for the family only to pull out at the last minute, leaving them with the bill to pay.

Fluke's father later agreed with the young woman's family to pay off the 200,000 baht bill at the risk of forfeiting a long-tailed fishing boat with which he makes a living. Jeab said news of the family's police complaint was the first time she knew Fluke had been seeing someone.

The young man's mother, Kanthima Korsinglek, later returned the Fortuner and apologised for helping keep the young woman a secret. She said B had quietly come to see Fluke at the marital home he shared with Jeab on Dec 8 while the singer was recording an album in Bangkok.

They took off with each other the next day, sparking the family drama which has since widened with Jeab and Fluke's family arguing over who made the bigger contribution to his welfare. While Fluke insists he and Jeab had already agreed to stop seeing each other, freeing him up to see other women, Jeab denies it, insisting the couple had rarely been apart since they married in May this year.

The marriage capped a five-year courtship ritual for Fluke, who met Jeab through relatives and who first asked to start seeing her when he was just 16. Jeab declined as he was too young, but he persevered until she finally agreed to get engaged to Fluke in November last year. Married life appears to have quickly lost its gloss for the young man, with Fluke claiming Jeab placed him under pressure over money. "She nagged me to get my mother to take out a 1.2 million baht loan to pay off her informal debts," he claims.

Fluke's parents insist they took out large loans to help support Fluke, disputing Jeab's claims that she paid for most of the wedding and marital home by the sea. Fluke helps his family with their fishing business but has no permanent work of his own, as he suffers from occasional seizures and can't take on heavy work.

Jeab said she was forced to turn to informal lenders by Fluke's own profligacy. He borrowed to start trading firearms online, against the wishes of her and his family. She could not shoulder the entire burden so asked his family for help.

While Fluke and Jeab have not spoken since the row, Jeab has urged him through the media to stop causing problems for his family and start acting like a man. She says both sides will have to discuss splitting up assets such as the marital home before she starts divorce proceedings.

She has also appealed to B, aged 21, to come forward and reveal what she knows. Fluke, according to the media, promised her a 1 million baht dowry and 10 baht weight in gold should they tie the knot, though it is not clear who was to pay. Jeab says he made similar promises at her wedding, but failed to deliver.

B and her family have yet to make amends with Fluke after he pulled the plug on the ceremony, embarrassing them. The drama continues.

Muay dodges victims

Victims of a sexy con-artist who paraded her feminine charm before gullible men at a dating site, later conning them into buying for her at least 13 vehicles in their name, are appealing to police to get a move on with the case after she refused to return the vehicles despite their mounting repayment debts.

Butsarakam 'Muay' Saothong

Police in Chon Buri have charged Butsarakam "Muay" Saothong, 22, originally from Surin, with conning the public and introducing fraudulent information to the computer system, after young men from the province complained she conned them into buying the vehicles with the false promise she would start seeing them romantically.

She offered to take over the vehicle repayments after they bought the vehicles, but instead left them with the bill.

Police from Samet station in Muang district called her in on Dec 13 and kept her overnight for questioning.

Police later asked the Chon Buri court to hold her in custody, but the court declined, arguing she posed no flight risk.

She returned on Monday at the request of police, where she spoke to them for just five minutes before being released again pending further proceedings. Asked by reporters if she wanted to say anything to the victims, Muay, wearing a mask to disguise her identity, declined to add anything further until her case reaches court.

Pol Lt Col Tittiwat Boonorn, inspector of investigations, said police at various stations had received a total of 13 complaints involving 13 vehicles.

One victim who waited for her at the station, "Kew", said Muay admitted passing on the vehicles to a third party, who pawned them. She offered to pay off his instalment debts until she was finally able to return the vehicle. He was paying off the vehicle he bought for her at 12,700 a month, which caused him financial duress.

Victims say they want the vehicles returned immediately as finance companies are on their tail. "Montree", another victim, asked how the police could treat her so leniently given the gravity of her offending. "Why not consider the victims? The case is a big one, involving millions of baht. Why can't cops move faster?" he said.

Yet another victim, "Thitiwut", said he fell victim to Muay's scheming last year when they met at a bank and she persuaded him to buy her a car which she later failed to pay off.

The court had ruled against her but she secured bail of 100,000 baht and later failed to make vehicle repayments as ordered. He came forward when he saw reports of her latest exploits. The case continues.

Marsha's annoying fan

Former Grammy singing star Marsha Vadhanapanich fears for her safety, after a woman turned up repeatedly at her home despite warnings by police.

Marsha Vadhanapanich

Marsha last week posted to Instagram a live video in which she confronts the woman, who calls herself Suchada Waiyawajjakorn and claims to be a fan. Marsha, who wrote on IG she was fed up with the visits, asks what the woman's intentions are in coming to her home despite having been warned off by police.

The intruder, identified as a singer with the RS Promotion label about 13 years ago who later turned to sexy magazine modelling before finally vanishing from the industry, says she is a "concerned" member of Marsha's fan club.

In a rambling and barely coherent exchange, Suchada asks if Marsha's IG has been hacked and if she has been cursed.

Marsha said she had put up with the woman's intrusions for the past couple of years, and wondered what she would have to do before the law finally stepped in to protect her. Marsha kept her talking until police arrived, as they had done on a previous visit when they fined Suchada and let her off with a warning.

Marsha says Suchada turned up on a motorcycle taxi and asked her to pay the fare. On a previous occasion someone had dropped her off, fuelling suspicions the intruder was part of a "gang".

Marsha's manager, Golf Kasama, says he has also warned off the woman, who has abused him when the two crossed paths near Marsha's home. "I am starting to wonder how it will end," he said.

Puppeteer finds new girl

Nong Daew, the blind leader of a famed southern Thai shadow puppet theatre troupe, admits he has found a new woman, after leaving his wife and mother of their two young children amid a family row.

Sunisa 'Jib' Suwanwaenthong and Nong Daew

Phanyat Suwanwaenthong, or Nang Nong Daew as he is also known, laid a complaint with Thungsong police in Nakhon Si Thammarat early this month, claiming his wife, Sunisa "Jib" Suwanwaenthong, 31, and relatives had taken off with two cars, his bank book and a diary of concerts he was booked to perform after an argument at his home in which relatives from both sides were also present.

However, Jib herself with family and a lawyer later visited the station to deny she had absconded and urged her husband to return home. She said the couple were having problems as Daew had started seeing a woman in the Northeast and planned to marry her at year's end. Asked by reporters at the time, Daew denied the claim, though last week went back on that assertion, admitting he had found indeed someone new. However, she should be regarded as his new "wife", not a mere fling, as they had slept together, he said.

He said Jib forfeited his trust by secretly opening a savings account in her name when he thought it was in his. "I found out when he went to withdraw money to buy sound equipment, but couldn't," he said, adding he owns no ATM card and normally leaves a thumbprint and his ID with Jib if he wants to perform bank transactions. "We have fought over money before with Jib against my supporting my parents and former teachers who helped me before I grew famous," he said.

Daew said he found a new woman to enter his life at a time when he and Jib were estranged, but failed to tell Jib, which was his fault.

"As a blind man I can't do much to help myself, so I have to have someone who can care for me. I was wrong to go back to Jib before now when I had already found someone else, but from here on in it's my business, as I have no intention of returning to our marriage," he said. The drama continues.

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