District calls in influencer Sean, but he’s vanished

Beleaguered social media influencer Sean Buranahiran will be summoned to meet local authorities this week to defend his controversial donation campaign, says an administrative official in Chiang Mai.

Deputy Muang Chiang Mai district chief Boonyarit Nipawanit said he was unable to contact Sean and the young man had not contacted the local authorities in Chiang Mai either.

The district will summon Sean to meet them on July 8 and will take legal action against him if he does not come, Mr Boonyarit said.

Immigration police commissioner Pol Lt Gen Sompong Chingduang said the bureau had not detected Sean crossing any immigration checkpoint to leave the country. If Sean had fled, he might have used natural channels, said Pol Lt Gen Sompong.

A few people had filed lawsuits against Sean in Bangkok but no one had done so in Chiang Mai, said the commander of the Chiang Mai provincial police Pol Maj Gen Pichet Chiranantasin. He said it was the responsibility of the Immigration Bureau to find Sean.

The social media influencer and life coach came under fire after he praised Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon as “kind of sweet.” His critics have since looked into Sean’s social media activities and found irregularities in his donation campaign to help fight Chiang Mai wildfires earlier this year.

Sean is accused of misspending donations worth over 800,000 baht by spending some of the money on his Covid-19 campaign and boosting his Facebook posts.v Sean’s official Facebook page has gone quiet with no new posting activity. The last post on June 27 says Sean has met the Provincial Police Region 5 responsible for Chiang Mai province to clarify his stand.

Deputy commissioner of the Provincial Police Region 5, Pol Maj Gen Bandit Tungkhaserani, warned people to be careful when making donations.