A son of influential figure and alleged gambling kingpin Paijit Thammarojpinit has been accused of beating his model-girlfriend, who has sought shelter and protection at the Paveena Hongsakul Foundation for Women and Children.
Boonsit Thammarojpinit, left, and Nattikarn Asawamongkolpan (Facebook photo)
Ms Paveena, founder of the shelter and an advocate for women and children's rights, took 21-year-old magazine model Nattikarn Asawamongkolpan to Phaya Thai police station on Tuesday. Ms Nattikarn was a girlfriend of Mr Boonsit Thammarojpinit, son of Mr Paijit, better known by his nickname Por Pratunam.
She accused Boonsit of beating her repeatedly, and produced a photo of what she said were her injuries. Boonsit, who was convicted of assault last year in a different case, was not available to comment.
The model told police that she and Mr Boonsit started dating about two years ago after they were introduced by her friend.
She said the relationship was smooth for seven months, but he then began to be moody, and they got into frequent heated arguments.
After a while, Mr Boonsit started assaulting her by punching and hitting her, she told police. He sometimes used a fork to stab her in the head. Recently, she received five stitches for a cut on her head caused by a table fan he threw at her.
Nattikarn Asawamongkolpan shows the photo of herself after she was assaulted, allegedly by her boyfriend.
Mr "Boonsit seemed to be proud of himself after he hurt me," she said. "I don't know if he's a psychopath and was taking drugs. "I tried to break up with him many times, but he locked me up inside a room and also threatened to kill me."
Ms Paveena said she will ask the Ministry of Justice to help her foundation provide protection to the model.
"We'll try to mend her mental health as she's paranoid about everything around her. Her condition is not good," Ms Paveena said.
Pol Col Saman Rodkamnerd, the Phaya Thai police chief, said Ms Nattikarn's complaint has been filed.
He said investigators will question Ms Nattikarn again to get more details, and then summon Mr Boonsit for interrogation.
Last year, the Criminal Court handed down a two-year prison term to Mr Boonsit for conspiring with others to physically attack two men in 2008 at a bar in Bangkok. His jail term was halved and he was released on a 120,000-baht bail to appeal.
Mr Boonsit was previously married to former pop singer Suttida Kasemsan aa Ayutthaya, better known as Nook. The couple had two children but were divorced after Ms Suttida accused him of assaulting her many times, including threats on her life.
