A busty somtam vendor in northeast Thailand was subjected yesterday to a mix of adoration and criticism for goods other than what’s sold at her stall, after promo shots of her and a friend wearing outfits that left little to the imagination went viral.
Twenty-eight-year-old vendor Petmanee “Pookie” Laphain broke the Thai net when she shared pics of her and an equally endowed friend in revealing outfits to promote their somtam shop Nomto Tam Pa.
Naturally, her pics earned a lot of fans, but also drew questions about whether they were appropriate.
Holy Crepe! Chiang Mai cops order sexy snack seller to cover up
That meant the upholders of moral behavior – cops – had to rush to the scene and pretend to be doing something about it. Pookie later shared an update with a selfie in which she wore more modest clothing and with police officers.
“Police told me I can promote in them but I’m not allowed to serve and sell,” she wrote.
According to Pookie, she had previously posted similar shots in February but gained backlash, prompting doubts as to whether she should continue making somtam.
“I don’t care about the comments that were posted on my pics anymore. I don’t think they’re wrong because they do not harm society but help generate [income] for me and my family,” she told reporters. “We receive more than 300 calls a day and sales are reaching THB8,000-10,000 (US$239-299) per day.”
“Therefore, I would like to tell merchants ‘you must dare to do the right thing. If you got the goods, you must show ‘em,” she added.
