A person who makes a mistake and is quick to correct it deserves our forgiveness. But, what about a person who repeats the same mistake many times and takes a long time to say sorry?
In this situation, many might feel reluctant to forgive as can be seen in the case of Patcharasri Benjamas, aka Kalamae, a TV personality who gained notoriety last month for bragging about the many health benefits of her food supplements, which has resulted in several lawsuits.
Today, everyone knows about her Botera "power shot" that she claimed enhanced looks. Last year, she told the media that the products had generated over 130 million baht in revenue, quite a huge sum for a one-year-old company.
But back then, few knew that her company was also accused of making false and deceptive claims about its products, with seven complaints lodged against it by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The story only came to light after Kalamae went live on Facebook to sell her products and made more outrageous claims. In one video, she said that her supplements could do many things -- lift up the face, eliminate jowls, turn sagging eyelids into double eyelids, lessen cheek lines and keep the nose in shape. She also added that they could firm up the whole body and bring back youthfulness.
This prompted the FDA to lodge another complaint. It also warned the public not to believe her and insisted that no dietary supplements can change facial features and body structure. This is also when it was revealed that her company had faced seven charges earlier.
Yet, she faced even more heat after making exaggerated claims that her products could stop the transmission of Covid-19 and help people recover from cancer.
Kalamae -- whose outspoken personality and quick wit have attracted a plethora of admirers during her 20-year career as a TV host, emcee, writer, columnist and health guru -- has been the centre of criticism ever since.
She has tried to defend herself with explanations that she only spoke from her experience after consuming her products and that the Covid-19 and cancer recovery claims were true stories from her clients.
However, she only angered more people after claiming she was wrong for expressing her feelings about the products and not knowing the claims were against FDA regulations. She also promised not to repeat the mistake by studying the regulations and other consumer laws.
Most people called her excuses lame and full of lies. Some even presented evidence that she actually got her new look from a beauty clinic and not her products. Meanwhile, others complained that the punishment and fine were too lenient since her company was recently valued at nearly 1 billion baht.
I've followed this story for weeks and was disappointed by her clarifications. I sense she lacks a sense of decency.
Considering her education and work experience, it's impossible that she would lack the vocabulary of contrition and penance. And as far as common sense is concerned, she should know that the general public doesn't need a law degree to know facts from fiction or right from wrong.
Just a few days ago, she decided to apologise to the public on TV and vowed to quit her TV host position indefinitely as a show of responsibility to society.
I hope that she will also take a serious look at her spiritual side and question her own sense of morality. She needs to realise that her actions contradict her image of being a faithful Buddhist with a good heart, which she has tried to project to her fans and followers.
Over the years, stories and images of her participating in religious ceremonies, going on pilgrimages and practising dhamma have been widely circulated on social media. Also, we often heard about her donations of huge sums of money to temples.
After all this, I couldn't help but feel fooled that these feel-good photos might have been a ploy to impress customers and make her look more trustworthy as a businesswoman.
She should keep in mind that actions always speak louder than words and it's not difficult for people to know the difference between a moral person and a fake.
Kalamae is a capable and hard-working woman who has built her wealth from almost nothing to a near billionaire status while still in her 40s. She can be an inspiration to many people.
It will be a pity if she chooses to discard moral values and lose her name in the lust for greater wealth.
Patcharawalai Sanyanusin is a writer for the Life section of the Bangkok Post.