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 family intended to pay the compensation. She apologised to the victims and their families, saying her her family shared the suffering of the victims. Her daughter suffered from depression, and the whole family depended on sleeping pills.
Commenting on the case, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Thursday that if people convicted by the courts tried to avoid paying ordered compensation their assets could be confiscated and auctioned off to raise the money.
The Thephasadin clan, led by secretary Suchai Thephasadin na Ayudhya and lawyer Nuttapol Thongkam, held a briefing on Thursday evening to apologise to the victims, plead with the public not to insult the family and offer 500,000 baht .
The cash was raised from the clan's members to help the victims' families cover the expenses executing the court order. "It has nothing to do with the damages the victims' families aree entitled to, " said Mr Nuttapol.
"We followed the case and when the court handed down the ruling, we thought everything was settled. We only learned from the news this week that the victims' families had yet to be contacted by Praewa," read the statement of the clan, with some 200 families using the surname.
On the late night of Dec 27 of 2010, Orachorn drove her car into the rear of a passenger van on the Don Muang Tollway near Kasetsart University in Bang Khen district. Nine people were killed, many 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 chatting 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 dismissed her appeal.
The relevant civil case was finalised on May 8 when 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.
