Actress gets her revenge
Actress Peranee "Matt" Kongthai is suing 100 "keyboard warriors" for 1 million baht apiece for criticising her relationship with businessman Songkran Techanarong, saying she has had enough of the abuse.
Peranee 'Matt' Kongthai and the first defendant.
Matt, who appeared for a hearing at the Criminal Court in Ratcha- daphisek last week, accompanied by her mother and the first defendant, said she wanted to set a standard for civilised discourse on the internet.
The damages sought, she said, take into account her reputation, education, and lost work opportunities over the past two years since she and Songkran went public about their relationship.
Songkran, heir to the family-owned Bonanza resort in Khao Yai, Nakhon Ratchasima, owned by his father Paiwong Techanarong, also turned up to cheer her on.
Matt came under fire after confirming in January 2019 that she had been seeing Songkran amid rumours that she had acted as a third hand, breaking up his marriage to actress Taksaorn "Aff" Paksukcharern. Songkran and Aff have a young daughter together.
Matt said some of Aff's fans pounded her mercilessly on the internet after the news emerged.
"I want this chance to confirm that none of those rumours were true," she said tearfully outside the court, adding that at the height of the storm she was forced to drop roles in two lakorns, and pull out of another. Her family had also suffered, with a teacher asking a relative of hers in class: "Who is related to the father with a minor wife?"
While money was not the object, she said she wanted to send a message to netizens and the media to curb their appetite for sensationalism. Making empty, hurtful accusations about people's personal lives was not on.
A financial penalty would have to be part of that, even though many of the netizens targeting in her lawsuits have since come forward to claim they have no money to pay.
"I have been on the receiving end for two years and now it's my turn to seek justice. This is the first time I have met the accused, though she has called my mother many times, and my lawyer to apologise," Matt said, referring to the young defendant who stood by her side as she addressed the media.
"The figure may not reach 1 million baht, as I feel sorry for the other party," she said, adding the defendant was also getting a hard time from her family, worried they would be left with a bill for damages.
"No one knows as well as I do how the other party must feel, as I have been through the same thing myself," Matt said. The court has called both sides back for a decision on whether it will accept the case on Nov 3. In the meantime they will proceed to conciliation.
The young accused, who did not give her name, said she read just a few sentences of a news report and jumped to conclusions. She was sorry for causing Matt distress, she said in tears.
News reports first emerged in September that an unnamed actress was preparing to sue an impressive 100 internet critics for defamation.
Since her lawyer, Saranya "Nida" Wangsukcharoen, confirmed reports that Matt was behind the legal undertaking, Matt's internet critics have fallen over themselves to apologise for smearing her name.
Matt has released some of the online apologies, along with her replies as her critics eat humble pie. They include one from an undertaker's wife, who said they are poor and can't afford to pay damages. She criticised Matt in jest but admitted she did not know the details.
Another critic said she was about to graduate and didn't want a legal case hanging over her. She no longer felt any prejudice towards Matt and realised she had the right to criticise her work only.
Another critic said she was a member of Aff's fanclub and was dismayed to hear reports that Matt was behind the end of her marriage to Songkran. However, she has since worked with many celebrities and found they were good people. She would like to say sorry in advance just in case she was among those sued.
One, however, sounded less than sincere about her apology, insisting many people are called "Matt" so she could have been slandering anyone. However, she was prepared to say sorry because she has a young son and doesn't want to pay damages.
Matt replied, saying: "Sorry to hear that. But it's a price you must pay and you must take responsibility for what you have done."
As for critics who wrote in asking when the legal papers would arrive, almost daring her to produce them, Matt assured them they would come. "As for those who used fake accounts to hide their name, my lawyer is smart and will still be able to find you," she said.
Matt said many celebrities had made contact offering advice about her legal venture, as they too had been defamed online. She has submitted legal papers to sue an initial 11 people, including the first defendant. The court will examine the merit of those cases at a hearing in February next year. She would file further cases from the batch of 100 in coming weeks.
Doctor's out to lunch
A Phichit man who enjoys impersonating doctors has drawn attention to his unusual pastime after a robbery of a local gold shop went wrong.
A Phichit man in a doctor's gown.
News emerged last week that the man, aged in his 30s, had tried unsuccessfully to rob a gold shop in Rajkasemutit Road, Muang district, of two gold necklaces on Aug 10.
The robbery attempt at the Thong Mae Tong Kee store might have stayed under the radar as the owner, Wilai Saeheng, aged 76, decided against pursuing legal action. However, it has been given new prominence since the man's pastime of dressing up as a doctor and lurking about local hospitals came to light.
The Red Skull Facebook page last week posted a message from a hospital worker who asked for advice on what to do about the man, who had turned up at Sam Ngam Hospital the day before wearing a doctor's gown.
He took selfies of himself in an examination room after telling staff he worked at Phichit Hospital, but was about to transfer to Sam Ngam Hospital and wanted to check the place out first. However, staff were suspicious and called Phichit Hospital where the poster is on staff asking if he did in fact work there.
"Originally he said he was training at Sai Ngam Hospital in Kamphaeng Phet, but yesterday said he was from Phichit Hospital and was about to be transferred," the poster said, asking the Red Skull website owner to pass on word to locals.
"His former girlfriend is a teacher, and I don't know if she was duped, but I don't want anyone else to fall victim," the poster said.
The man's name and address are evidently known, but he is still free to practise his deception on others. Surachai Kaewhirun, director of Phichit Hospital, said staff had looked up the man's name on the staff database.
He could confirm no one by that name was on staff and said anyone with doubts about a doctor's bona fides can look up their details at the Medical Council website.
Meanwhile, news has now emerged of the man's bungled attempt to rob the gold store back in August. Ms Wilai, the store owner, said the man, wearing his doctor's garb, had visited her shop many times, always at midday when she was having her lunch. He drove a Honda Jazz and asked to look at her gold necklaces but never bought anything.
On the latest occasion, he turned up in his doctor's outfit but looked worse for wear, with his shirt untucked and "not the way a doctor should look", she said.
He looked at a necklace worth 26,000 baht and said he intended buying it for his mother. While she was busy in the shop he quietly slipped two gold strands into his bag, but a staff member saw him.
"I didn't want to involve the police as I knew he was a doctor and it would affect his future. I merely asked for their return but he refused so I had to call the police and only then did he hand them over," Ms Wilai said.
"I did not go to the station to lay a complaint because if it went to court I would have to shut up shop for the day. However, I sent his picture to all the gold shops in the area warning them about him," she added. The drama continues.
Flying pickup comes to rest
Police are eager to talk to a driver whose pickup was going at such speed it managed to leap over a canal and plunge into a corrugated iron shack which its owner calls home, surprising him as he lay asleep.
Police are eager to talk to a driver whose pickup was going at suchspeed it managed to leap over a canal and plunge into a corrugated iron shack which its owner calls home, surprising him as he layasleep.
News reports last week showed the black pickup with its rear poking inelegantly out of the back of a corrugated iron dwelling by a canal.
The structure, which has no dwelling number, is on Liab Klong Chol Pratan Road of Chon Buri's Phan Thong district.
Anirut Leknuan, 34, the owner, was sleeping at the time when the Isuzu D-Max pickup truck plunged into his home.
"I heard a thundering roar and felt as if my home was spinning around. I woke to discover I had ended up on the truck's roof along with my bed and fan," he said.
Media images showed a mattress and purple fan sitting on the cabin's roof. Mr Anirut, who suffered minor strains but nothing serious, said he climbed down to find the driver unconscious.
"I called out to him as I tried to open the passenger door. When he came to, he found a way to get out of the vehicle and a passerby took him to hospital," he said.
Anirut Leknuan shows the incident scene to a policeman.
Like Mr Anirut, the driver suffered minor injuries, but he has yet to disclose how he managed the feat, which news reports likened to a stunt from a James Bond movie.
"I am lucky my injuries weren't more serious. But I was stunned that a truck could get across the canal at the back of my house. How did it happen?" Mr Anirut asked. Police are waiting to talk to the driver before taking legal action.
