Thai rock singer 'Tik Shiro' offers just B4-5m over fatal drink-driving crash
text size

Thai rock singer 'Tik Shiro' offers just B4-5m over fatal drink-driving crash

Listen to this article
Play
Pause
Rock singer Manaswin “Tik Shiro” Nuntasane (Photo: Tik Shiro Facebook page)
Rock singer Manaswin “Tik Shiro” Nuntasane (Photo: Tik Shiro Facebook page)

Rock singer Manaswin “Tik Shiro” Nuntasane and his family insist they are ready to take responsibility for his drink-driving by giving 4-5 million baht to the family of two people killed in a van accident in Bangkok three months ago, saying the 24 million baht demanded by the family of the victims is too much.

The 63-year-old singer told reporters on Thursday that he wanted to explain what really happened in the road crash late last year that led to the loss of two lives. The incident inflicted wounds to both two families involved, said Manaswin during a press conference.

Manaswin, better known as “Tik Shiro”, was driving a van on Oct 10 when he hit a motorcycle driven by Thianporn Siwapornpitak, 28, on a bridge over Theparak Road in the Sukhaphiban 5 area of Bangkok's Sai Mai district. Thianporn's brother, Chakkrapat, 21, was her passenger.

Thianporn was found dead at the scene while her brother was seriously injured and sent to Bhumibol Adulyadej Hospital.  

Chakkrapat was hospitalised for over 70 days before being transferred to a rehabilitation centre on Dec 22. He died on Jan 18.

On Jan 19, Jeerawat Siwapornpitak, father of the victims, visited the hospital to receive Chakkrapat's body before going to the office of the Sai Mai Tong Rod Facebook page to seek justice for his deceased daughter and son.

Mr Jeerawat has urged the singer to re-evaluate the amount of compensation since the family has now lost two children, saying the death of his daughter was already devastating and now his son has succumbed to his injuries as well.

The singer said he had held talks with the family of the two victims about compensation and would compose a song for them over the incident. If the song is released, the income would be given to the victims' family, he said.

Ms Ae, a younger sister of the singer’s wife, said on Thursday that her brother-in-law had given his side of story about the incident on that day and had never changed his statement.  

She denied claims that the singer had never held talks with the victims' family about compensation. 

The woman, whose real name was disclosed, said the singer’s family had paid 100,000 baht in financial assistance to the family of Thianporn, who was the first person killed in the crash.

After being discharged from the hospital, Manaswin attended funeral rites for Thianporn every day and provided financial assistance of another 75,530 baht to the father of the deceased.

On Oct 12 last year, the singer and the family of the deceased held the first round of talks about compensation. The family wanted 9 million baht in compensation, but at the time it was not yet clear whether the amount of compensation covered only Thianporn, because her brother was still in an intensive care unit, said Ms Ae. 

She later learned that the amount covered only Thianporn.

She said the singer had offered a plot of land in Nakhon Ratchasima to the family of the deceased. The land was worth about 4-5 million baht, said the sister of the singer’s wife. On Jan 13, negotiations were held between the two families. The victims' family demanded compensation of 24 million baht.

Ms Ae said the singer and his family could afford only 4-5 million baht.

Lawyer Kanthamet Janophas said police had pressed a new charge of drink-driving causing deaths against the singer.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (32)