Celeb, kathoey pan cash for poor scheme, Grab-bag of sex

State holds out begging bowl

A millionaire from Bangkok and a dress shop owner in Phuket have emerged as high profile critics of the government's cash for the poor scheme, while denying they have an axe to grind.

Former actor Krirkphol "Fluke" Masayavanich, who is married into the wealthy Chearavanont clan, emerged as a prominent online critic of state efforts to help those affected by the economic shutdown imposed to fight the Covid-19 outbreak.

He asked why, given the huge budgetary resources at its disposal, the government had to rely on the likes of celebrities such as him to ensure aid reached the poor.

Fluke and his wife Natalie Chearavanont, niece of Charoen Pokphand Group founder Dhanin Chearavanont, have been pictured boxing up equipment for hospitals nationwide to help them treat patients.

The company earlier handed over 77 million baht to Thammasat University Hospital with proceeds raised from the plastic bags recycling campaign at CP's 7-11 convenience stores.

Media reports say they donated the funds as part of the government's flagship "You will never be left behind" campaign, a 50 billion baht fund that kicked off last week. It provides 5,000 baht per month for three months to temporary employees and self-employed workers knocked out of work as the government ordered all but essential activity to cease.

Amid a mixed reception on the internet, critics as diverse as Fluke and a kathoey dress shop owner in Patong asked why the government appeared to be doing so little to help.

Pro-regime celebrities joined the government spokesman in rounding on Fluke, asking if he was sowing colour-coded divisions at a time when Thais were urging unity and reminding him that the government's response to the pandemic had been praised overseas.

Kathoey critic Kochaporn Saengchan, meanwhile, known on Facebook as NaNa Kochaporn, was hauled in by local police for a "please explain" after she derided the scheme's 5,000 baht payout as small change worthy of tucking behind the fridge.

Netizens said she appeared to be well-heeled, posting images of overseas holidays and brand-name goods, and asked how she qualified under the scheme when other, more deserving cases missed out.

Speaking the same day as the government threatened legal action against those who broke its nighttime curfew, Fluke took to Facebook live to say it seemed like the state was always waiting for someone else to chip in help rather than mounting a decent relief effort itself. "Why does the government have to wait for merit-makers to act before helping others? They have a huge budget; where has it all gone?"

Fluke complained that he saw mainly just celebrities helping hard-pressed doctors and hospitals. "How are they able to find the equipment and supplies needed but the government is not able to do so?" he asked.

"It's as if everything has to be funded by public donations, starting with last year's floods." Many sympathetic netizens replied saying state relief wasn't getting to the right spots, and some folk were down to one meal a day because they lack an income since being confined to home.

One critic said Fluke sounded like celebrity types who had aligned themselves to the old Future Forward Party in attacking the government. In response, Fluke asked critics not to rope him into politics and denied he was taking sides.

Palang Pracharath Party spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said the government was throwing everything it could at the virus.

"Fluke should think before he speaks as he is a public figure. It's good that he is donating to hospitals but I struggle to think of anything else of public good he has done apart from news stories of his being a casanova," he sniffed.

"If we call for donations it's because the country has to get through this crisis together. No one could see it coming or prepare for it, but now it's here we have to hit it with budgets which are inevitably limited. This is a time for pooling our efforts to fight the disease, not sowing social conflict," he said.

Meanwhile, Kathoey critic Ms Kochaporn, 25, originally from Roi Et, denied she was flaunting her wealth in deriding the state's 5,000 baht payment, and said her remarks about the state's relief efforts were misunderstood. Her friends had asked how she was able to qualify when some of them had been knocked back. Ms Kochaporn said she was also reflecting on her own plight as she contemplated the scheme.

"For people affected by lockdown, how will the 5,000 baht payment help anything? People can't go anywhere and yet they have big expenses to pay like rent. My landlord refuses to reduce the rent even though my shop is closed."

Patong police let her go as inquiries are continuing. However, Pol Col Siriwat Deepor, deputy spokesman of the Technology Crime Suppression Division, said Ms Kochaporn could still be charged with spreading false information under the Computer Crime Act.

Elsewhere, actor and volunteer rescue worker Bin Bunluerit, who is handing out 5 million baht of his personal earnings to the city's slum communities as he strives to help those hit by the virus, said he is not game to call for public donations for his charitable efforts as he has in the past.

Bin and other members of his Ruam Katanyu Foundation have been touring poor communities in Bangkok over the past week, handing out 500 baht to each household affected by the economic shutdown, which he boosts to 2,000 baht when locals have a medical condition.

As the TV cameras follow him around, sad stories of locals in need who the state's "You will never be left behind" scheme have barely helped have come to light.

Bin, who raised 422 million baht to help victims of last year's floods in Ubon Ratchathani, said he thought about launching a new appeal to help those affected by Covid-19 but decided against it, as he didn't want the "drama".

He was at pains to stress his own efforts to help were not intended to show up the government or cast its leadership in a poor light. He and his team hope to cover the whole of Bangkok by the end of the month, visiting about 400-600 households a day.

He is dipping into his own savings, drawing on his earnings as a presenter. While not actively appealing for funds, he said anyone wanting to help is welcome to get in touch.

Delivery boys in demand

GrabFood delivery boys say the social distancing rules in which Thais are spending days confined to home is throwing up some strange behaviour, with some more interested in "GrabSex" than the items they have come to deliver.

Two cases have come to light on social media in the past week as GrabFood delivery guys sound a warning to others in the trade. The young men say they were lured into delivering goods to the customer's door only to be invited in for other activities.

Chokchai Denduang, 18, said a customer asked him to buy food from a department store in the Onnut area. When he delivered it to his apartment in Phra Pradaeng, the customer asked him to bring it to his door, which was five levels up.

Mr Chokchai said he was annoyed to have to take it to him personally, but the customer was not willing to come down and get it. He found the customer wearing only a towel, which conveniently fell off the moment he opened the door. "His towel fell off, revealing his equipment in a state ready for action," as one media report put it.

The young man said he stood there in shock. Adding insult to injury, the customer invited him in and promised him a tip. He also took him by the hand and tried to entice him into the room, but Mr Chokchai resisted.

As the customer pulled his towel back on, barely concealing his private parts, the two discussed payment. "He gave me 400 baht but I did not have change for the 319 baht bill so asked him to transfer it. He picked up his phone and while he was doing that squeezed gel onto his hand and started rubbing himself under the towel," Mr Chokchai said.

"I refused to enter, and said if he wanted that kind of service he should call someone else." As the customer ejaculated, the young man, who managed to take a picture of him in his towel, hurriedly left. "It's getting harder and harder to make a living...this is the life of a GrabFood delivery boy," Mr Chokchai lamented.

Meanwhile, a GrabFood delivery guy whose customer asked him to buy some body oil says he found him stretched out on bed naked but for underwear.

The delivery guy, who was not named, asked what brand of oil he wanted. The customer told him to come and see it in his room. "I thought that was a waste of time so asked him to send a picture. He did, and I could his underwear-clad crotch in the background. I was shocked at his audacity but it was too late to cancel the job."

The customer asked him to deliver the baby oil to his room and said he would leave the door unlocked. "When I entered I found him stretched out on the bed in his underwear and with his eyes covered. He asked me to massage him, and took the oil to rub his stomach and his crotch," the young man said.

He took a picture of his customer as he was lying on his bed. "He was staring at my crotch the whole time so I delivered the item as quickly as I could. Is it GrabFood or GrabSex? I am posting this as a warning to others to stay alert for such dangers. We shouldn't have to deliver right to the door," he said.