THE DRUGS DON’T WORK, BAG SNATCH FAILURE, TURNING TABLES ON NO PARKING ZONE
Amy under fire
Actress Amelia “Amy” Jacobs has denied charges of supplying narcotics as a court case against her begins, five months after she was caught in her condo taking methamphetamines.
Amy, 29, and her boyfriend, who have been held without bail in Min Buri prison since they were arrested last September, appeared in the district court last week where the pair entered different pleas.
Prosecutors have charged the pair with possession of illicit drugs and intent to sell. Amy’s boyfriend, Punyawat “Pol” Hirantecha, 41, a pub manager, admitted to both taking drugs and supplying, but Amy admits the charge of taking drugs only.
The 2006 Miss Thailand winner and her boyfriend were arrested in Sai Mai district after police found them with methamphetamines, ecstasy pills, and various drug-taking paraphernalia.
The raid on Amy’s house followed the earlier arrest of a man identified as Benz “Nat” Boondek, who police say was caught in Lat Phrao district with the ice drug and implicated Mr Punyawat as his supplier.
Police say they asked Mr Benz to call him and order more. They arranged to meet at a pub in Theparak Road. When Mr Punyawat arrived, police hiding in wait presented themselves and searched him, but found nothing.
Mr Punyawat said he had intended to take Mr Benz back to his place to get the ice there. He admitted he had ice hidden at his condo which he shared with his girlfriend, Amy.
Police had Mr Punyawat take them to the condo, where they say they found Amy sitting on the floor, taking ice, along with a stash of about 70 grammes of the drug hidden in a clothes container, 16 ecstasy pills, and digital weighing scales.
Later at the police station, a dishevelled, thin looking Amy apologised to society for messing with drugs.
Amy said a friend outside the industry introduced her to drugs, and she had been taking them for about a year to relieve stress. She had been seeing her boyfriend for two months.
Mr Punyawat initially told police the drugs at the condo belonged to a friend, and he was merely looking after them. However, a subsequent arrest put his claims in doubt. As the probe expanded further, police arrested Natcha “Punch” Jampasang, 34, in possession of 14 bottles of ketamine, eight grammes of ice, and two ecstasy pills.
She told police she sells goods online and had known Mr Punyawat about a year. She claimed the pair were suppliers who obtained their drugs from a big-time agent who is also a friend of Mr Punyawat’s.
Mr Punyawat told police his friend Mr Benz, whose arrest in Lat Phrao sparked the probe, had asked him for drugs for his own use but then tried to sell them, resulting in his arrest.
The “buyer” was an undercover policeman. “While I was in custody, Punch sent me a Line message asking for some drugs. The police laid a trap and caught her,’’ he said.
Amy, who earned her fame as star of the popular Channel 7 drama Thida Wanorn (Monkey Daughter), appeared in 2016 in the Channel 3 series the Cupids.
Her career was in tatters a mere 24 hours after the arrest saga broke, with her boss at Broadcast Thai Television, Arunocha “Nong” Panupan, abruptly ending her contract.
After hearing their pleas, the court set June 6 to hear prosecution witnesses, and the day after that to hear witnesses for the defence. The case continues.
Mimi Tao’s motorcycle fiasco
A famous transgender model is thankful to have escaped with minor injuries after thieves grabbed her bag as she was riding on a motorcycle taxi, sending the bike crashing to the road.
International lingerie model Phajaranat “Mimi Tao” Nobantao complained to Lumpini police last week after the failed snatch and grab attempt left her with bruises over her arms and shoulders, but thankfully no broken bones.
She said she was riding on a motorcycle taxi on Ratchadamri Road last Tuesday about 1am, heading out for noodles, when two men on a motorcycle came up behind her, and one grabbed her bag.
Mimi Tao said the force of the snatch attempt, and her determination to hang on to the bag, upset the bike’s balance.
“The bike came crashing down, sliding along the road. I held on to my bag tightly, but suffered heavy bruising,” Mimi Tao said. “When the two men behind saw the bike had come to grief, they fled without the bag.
“A car was right behind me and managed to stop in time with just a metre to spare, so I am lucky.
“But if I had suffered more serious injuries such as broken bones, they would have kept me out of work for months.”
The accident occurred opposite Chulalongkorn Hospital, so Mimi Tao was able to get care for her injuries promptly.
“I want to warn friends that crime is happening on our streets too often, so proceed with care,” she said. Police are investigating.
Road rage in the driveway
Convicted road rager and DJ Pattarasak “Keng” Thiemprasert has chimed into the debate over motorists parking their vehicles in front of residents’ homes.
Keng, who was convicted of backing his pickup into a city motorist’s vehicle in a famous road rage attack in 2016, said he knew how frustrating it felt to be parked in, and posted a playful message for anyone thinking of blocking the entranceway to his home.
He posted a cartoon image of a pickup truck with the accompanying message: “Park me in and will reverse and back into your vehicle and squash it, friend.”
Keng said he sympathised with Boonsri Saengyoktrakan, a resident of the Seri Villa housing estate in Prawet district, who along with her sister made headlines last week when they attacked a pickup, whose driver had parked his vehicle in front of her home as he went shopping at a nearby market.
The DJ said: “I was parked in once at my home for half the day. I visited the neighbours, asking if they knew the vehicle’s owner, without success,” he said.
“In the end I just had to wait, and ended up missing work.”
He said a member of his fanclub drew the cartoon for him, and he posted it in fun.
Keng, sentenced to three months in jail for his road rage melee, rammed his pickup into a Toyota Yarris but blamed the other driver for the scrape, only to find his actions had been filmed.
The DJ, who is appealing against the ruling, denied he was milking publicity from the car smashing incident in Prawet for his own ends.
“Getting parked in is common enough, but until it happens to you, you don’t know what it is like,” he said.
The front of his house these days carries a sign asking motorists tempted to park there to leave their contact number in case he needs to reach them so they can retrieve their vehicle.
“But the easiest thing of all is not to park in front of people’s homes in the first place,” he said.