Actor cops mask deal flak
Actor Sornram "Noom" Theppitak has defended his wife's conduct after she agreed to sell imported sanitary face masks to a city medical clinic only to pull out of the deal after the government declared they were a price-controlled product.
Sornram 'Noom' Theppitak
The deal came under scrutiny last week after celebrity activist Atchariya Ruangrattanapong took the clinic owner, Yannitar Sarathit, to Hua Mak police to lay a complaint of fraud against Noom's wife, actress Kanissarin "Tik" Patcharapakdeechot.
Ms Yannitar, who is also a nurse, said she paid 900,000 baht for the imported masks but the other side failed to come up with the goods.
Ms Yannitar said she ordered 200,000 masks under the 3M brand for 9.5 baht each, or 1.9 million baht in total, from Tik after hearing that she imported them from Vietnam.
She said she hoped to use the face masks at her own clinic and give the rest to other nurses she knew to help alleviate a shortage of the items during the coronavirus crisis.
She placed the order on March 5 and the two sides agreed she could pick them up at the couple's home on March 13. They also asked for a 900,000 baht deposit on the goods, which she paid. However, Ms Yannitar said when the pick-up date came, Tik failed to deliver.
She claimed she had yet to satisfy all conditions of the order and asked Ms Yannitar to place the order with the Vietnamese suppliers in her own name.
The same day, the government clamped price controls on sanitary masks of 2.5 baht each amid a wave of price gouging. Importers were also told to declare their import costs. In a Facebook and Instagram live session last week, Noom admitted the couple initially saw an opportunity to profit from rising demand for face masks and alcohol gel.
However, when the government imposed the price controls they decided they could no longer go ahead. They were willing to sacrifice the deposit they paid in Vietnam to walk away from the deal, as it was preferable to breaking the law. Noom's live session was prompted by the arrival of a lawyer's letter in which Ms Yannitar declared she was scrapping their contract and asked for the return of her deposit.
Noom said he and his wife, who sell goods online, were happy to return the 900,000 baht but since Ms Yannitar went to lawyers for help were unable to get hold of her. The actor said he had to ask Hua Mak police to liaise with the other side. Noom finally had his lawyer hand over the money via cashier's cheque on Thursday.
Speaking at the station as they laid their complaint, Mr Atchariya said Tik claimed she had a valid importer's licence for the goods, which she sent to Ms Yannitar. However, the Commerce Ministry, which took a look at it, declared it was a fake, he said.
Many netizens were savage in their criticism of the pair for trying to make money out of the virus crisis.
While Tik initially launched savage rejoinders of her own, telling netizens in blunt language to stop interfering, by mid-week she had contacted a lawyer to take legal action.
Speaking at the cheque handover, Ms Yannitar said she would withdraw legal action against the pair and had no hard feelings.
Snook takes on condo mafia
Actor Bodin "Snook" Roeakwuthipong, who is recovering from a Covid-19 infection, insists he is willing to cooperate with tenants at his condo after they objected to his being sent home from hospital early.
Bodin 'Snook' Roeakwuthipong
Snook and tenants at his Ramkamhaeng condo have launched a war of words via the media after Snook publicised his admission to hospital with the virus, only to turn up back at his condo shortly after without telling anyone he had been cleared. He also breached self-quarantine, which tenants potentially argued placed others at risk.
As some tenants declared he was persona non grata, Snook said they should try showing more sympathy to those who fall ill from the virus. "I am happy to cooperate with others. but you can't get the virus as easily as they seem to think. Don't hate people with the virus or try to drive them away," he said.
The conflict arose after Snook was admitted to Chulalongkorn Hospital on March 21. He supplied a timeline of his movements so others would know if they had come into contact with him and been exposed to the virus.
After being treated there and a test for the virus turned up negative, on March 26 doctors said he could go home while still observing self-isolation requirements.
His neighbours in Building A said they saw Snook outside the condo on March 28 picking up goods from a delivery man. They were alarmed to find him back from hospital so soon, as he had not notified the body corporate that he was now virus-free.
They sent a representative, a lawyer, to ask Snook what was going on but received little cooperation.
He declined to supply a doctor's certificate showing he was now in the clear. Media reports say one tenant also complained to the Department of Disease Control about him.
Snook went back into hospital for a checkup on March 30, when a second test also showed he was in the clear. He issued an open letter to the media complaining about the way condo tenants had treated him. The tenants responded with a missive of their own, in which they asked him to think about others.
"We're not meddling, but before he came back, did he give his unit a good clean? He shares that building with a mix of tenants, including kids, people with chest ailments and the elderly. He needs to show more public awareness and show some respect when he speaks," they said.
Contacted by Amarin TV, one tenant said Snook had not bothered getting to know anyone at the condo and they were not interested in his apologies after the event.
"You have to try to understand Covid; there is still no cure. His behaviour is divisive. We have more than 400 people here, and no one was intruding in his affairs.
"Instead of trying to use us to boost his own profile, he should try to forge an understanding about the disease and protect himself. Personally speaking, no one wants to know him anymore."
Snook said he was sorry for upsetting tenants and had no intention of spreading the bug. Even after his latest test came back negative, he has to keep isolated for another 14 days, and after that will return to his condo and stay in isolation another seven days. He would also have his doctor clarify to the body corporate his condition to put tenants' fears at ease.
"I merely asked for some understanding about the way doctors treat the disease. In my case, I practically showed no symptoms and the infection did not go down to my chest. However I urge anyone who shows symptoms to get themselves tested," he said.
Jilted lover rues 'Pat Day'
A young man is under fire from netizens after parting with 400,000 baht to look after his girlfriend who following a no-touch relationship spanning a year and three months has lost interest and married someone else.
Pachara 'B' Thianthong
Pachara "B" Thianthong, 29, complained on social media after his girlfriend, identified as Pat, posted pictures of herself and her new husband, posing for studio snaps of their wedding outfits and giving alms to monks.
B said she started seeing the newcomer without his knowledge and did not bother calling off their relationship, despite the huge sums he lavished on her, including an iPhone 11 Pro, her rent, and brand name items. He said the total came to about 400,000 baht.
He said they met on an online lending group and he flirted with Pat because he thought she was cute. It was the start of an odd relationship in which he would send her cash and lavish gifts on her to keep her happy but where the relationship hardly progressed.
"She would send me a list of her expenses. The bills included 2,500 baht for a laundry bill; 1,800 baht power bill; 1,000 baht water bill; a facial for 1,500 baht; her nails, 1,300 baht, and photographer's fees 5,000 baht," he said. Some of these expenses would later turn into Twitter buzzwords as netizens marvelled at how B could be so gullible.
"Whatever she wanted, I provided...brand name bags, makeup, the phone, everyday items. I also put a 20,000 baht down payment on a Mazda for her. She failed to make repayments, saying she wasn't 'in the mood'.
"Every week there was also a 'Pat Day' where I had to buy her something to make her happy, no expense spared. Whenever we argued and she was upset I would have to transfer 5,000-10,000 baht so she could go shopping," he added.
"I also took her family out for meals, but in all the time we were together I never saw her place. I could pick her up at the mouth of the soi and that was it. We never had sex and I wasn't allowed to touch her either.
"Three weeks ago we argued after I forgot to pay for her graduation day expenses. She said she was angry and would now keep her distance." Pat later posted the images of herself with her new husband.
"It's a good year because I have finished my studies and am now ready to have a family," Pat declared in her post. "I didn't choose him because he's the best, simply because he makes me the happiest," she said about her new love. And, adding abruptly: "I want to delete the past because the present is about to start."
The owner of a Facebook site called Comeback says he knows a friend of B's who says Pat has a rocky past. "She has had many victims before B, and owns many FB accounts. Her parents knew about B but didn't mind her going with other men. She is a former sideline girl (someone who sells her body part-time), and had a child when she was just 15 or 16. She left the father to be with a new man after three months," he said.
Asked about B's complaints, Pat admitted accepting B's money but denied she had tricked him or that her parents were complicit in her behaviour. "It's up to people what they think. But he gave the money willingly and I took it," she said.
Meanwhile, netizens show little sympathy for B, saying he had treated Pat like an object. "It's obvious she did not love him; she made that pretty clear with her sharp tongue. However, he wanted her body and was prepared to pay. For her part, she was open about tricking him out of his money. We have seen this pattern through the ages and no one ever learns," one wrote.
