KUENG DENIES CHEATING, BLE’S RE-EDUCATION, RING OF IRE
Social media backlash fury
Actress Janie Tienphosuwan’s ex-boyfriend has come forward to deny cheating on her.
Hi-so businessman Chalermchai “Kueng” Mahagitsiri emerged last week to say he was not happy with the furore on social media which accompanied unconfirmed reports that Janie left him after discovering he had been seeing someone else.
Janie’s tearful confirmation early this month that the two had parted, amid dark hints that he could have treated her better, led to a backlash against Kueng on social media.
Her remarks were followed a day later by news that Janie had fallen out with actresses Wirithipa “Woonsen” Pakdeeprasong and Cris Horwang because they are close to Kueng’s new fling, hi-so businesswoman Saowanee “Jib” Pathaiwanich.
Janie said she had “unfollowed” both friends on Instagram as she needed time to mend her heart.
Going before the media last week for the first time since Janie’s bombshell comments, Kueng promptly declared he had done nothing wrong by her, despite the public speculation.
“We have been through many good and bad times together, but I never did wrong by her. The news stories go too far,” he said.
He said he was unhappy with remarks by actress Alicia “Ann” Laisuthruklai, a supposed mutual friend, who said his behaviour was wicked and he could look forward to a telling off next time she saw him.
“She is judging me based on no information,” Kueng declared. “No one really knows what happened but for the two people involved, as relationships are personal.”
He said people are abusing him on social media, but the saga is also affecting his family. A young friend of his eight-year-old nephew had asked if Kueng was indeed “wicked”.
“Ann called and sent a message apologising for her remarks about me, but said she didn’t want to make it public. I think that’s unfair, as people close to me have been affected,” Kueng said.
Earlier, Ann, who is trying to heal the breach which has opened between Janie and her friends, asserted in a TV interview that Janie had done no wrong; it was all Kueng.
“He is the cause of lifelong friends falling out, though once the fuss has passed I hope they will get back together again,” Ann said.
“It’s not that everyone hates Kueng, but there’s right and wrong, and you shouldn’t exploit women ... it’s not good behaviour,” she said.
In response to Kueng’s comments, Ann published an image on social media of her and her family at the airport. “I am fleeing the chaos in Bangkok for the slow life on a trip to Pai province,” she said.
Earlier, Janie pleaded with reporters to let the drama fade, as people had been hurt enough. She grew upset when reporters asked about a social media message left by Kueng’s father, backing his son, which many also took to be a dig at Janie.
Kueng’s millionaire father, business magnate Prayudh Mahagitsiri, took his son to receive blessings from a monk at Wat Ratchabophit. “He said he hoped only good things would happen in his work and his private life from now on,” he wrote.
Asked for her reaction, Janie urged the media not to drag “adults” into an affair concerning young people. “This is matter for youngsters alone,” she said, referring to her relationship troubles.
As the saga bubbles on, few signs have emerged of Janie making up with her estranged friends. Actress Woonsen, who came under fire on social media for failing to alert Janie when she found out Kueng had started seeing someone else, insisted she did try to help. “I said if she was not happy, she should leave,” she said.
“I meant to tell her in more detail, but she found out first,” she insisted.
Singer praises informal system
Isan singer Ble Patumrach R Siam has put in a plug for the informal education system after graduating at Mathayom 6 level, years after leaving school.
Ble, who on the back of his newfound fame is building a 1 million baht home for his parents in their native Amnat Charoen, said he has the informal education system, known in Thai as Kor Sor Nor, to thank for his academic success.
Ble, who left school at Mathayom 3 and describes himself as a simple country boy, said he was delighted to pass Mathayom 6 after studying in the non-school system for the past few years — though it was not as easy as many think.
“I had to sit the exam twice, and the questions were like something you would get in university. Thanks, KSN, for the opportunity. I have always thought studying outside the system was important, especially for those who have little money.
“If one day someone ever comes forward wanting to axe KSN, I will resist strenuously.
“Nor is it true that those who study outside the system have less going for them than those who studied general subjects at school ... it comes down to knowledge and experience,” he said, adding he now plans to start on a bachelor’s degree.
Ble, who recently published a picture on social media of himself in tears, says he is crying out of happiness these days as he contemplates coming changes in his life.
Next month, as part of a young Thai male’s rite of passage, he will enter the monkhood briefly, before emerging to enter military service as a conscript in November. Ble, also known as Arthit Somnoi, drew a red card in the military conscription ballot in June, obliging him to serve as a soldier for the next two years.
He promptly prostrated himself at his father’s feet when he knew the result. He said he would be proud to serve and would not let his father or his country down.
Tak’s false alarm
Actress Bongkot “Tak” Khongmalai has lost and found a 12 million baht wedding ring which she told police had gone missing from her bedroom.
Tak laid a complaint with Kannayao police last week saying the 5-carat diamond ring had disappeared from her bedroom about midday on Aug 25. She asked police to call in her maids, including one who left her employ on July 12.
Police collected fingerprints from the scene, and called in for questioning two maids who work at her home, which she shares with her husband, billionaire Dtac founder Boonchai Bencharongkul, and their young son Khao Hom.
They were also in the process of contacting the maid who had left her employ in July when news emerged she had found the ring. A media outlet called about the missing ring after being alerted, only to be told by Tak it had turned up again.
“The ring is still here. Where did you hear about it?” she asked.
Later on social media, she said she had found the ring after returning from the police station to lay her complaint. Police had called in the maids for questioning as a matter of procedure, she said.
This is not the first time Tak has complained of problems with the hired help. In early 2015, Tak sacked a nanny after two years of service, claiming she liked to gossip and borrow money without paying it back.