Island authorities on Koh Phangan filed a police complaint against a celeb visitor for failing to isolate 14 days and wear a mask in the public despite being infected with COVID-19.
Koh Phangan’s district chief pressed charges against 38-year-old Chermarn “Ploy” Boonyasak after her flaunting of health measures triggered fierce anger and complaints about celebrity privilege.
Ploy apologized for her “reckless behavior” via Instagram yesterday, two days after announcing she had contracted the disease.
“I am sorry for deciding to travel during a time people shouldn’t be. It’s my own reckless behavior because I thought that, by strictly protecting myself, I would be free of the virus. But things can always get out of hand,” Ploy wrote, adding that she had tested negative prior to flying to Koh Samui.
Her Monday announcement that she was sick led people to images in her timeline showing her maskless and enjoying the sights when she should have been in isolation under rules imposed by Surat Thani province late last month.
Ploy also disclosed that, during the past 14 days, she had visited the CentralFestival Samui shopping mall and several restaurants. Her trip to the islands began April 25 and ended Saturday.
Ploy has appeared in films for two decades and is best known for her role in 2007 rom-com Love of Siam. In 2014, she helped promote refugee issues for the United Nations. In 2012, she cried her way out of tax fraud prosecution.
Poonsak said despite Ploy’s celebrity status, she wouldn’t get special treatment this time.
“I’ll wait until Ploy recovers, and we’ll definitely pursue legal action against her,” Poonsak said. “The police will proceed at their best without corruption. Ploy will not receive any special treatment.”
With the public forced to endure hardship to contend with the coronavirus pandemic, episodes have emerged of well-oiled and powerful people invoking rage by ignoring the rules.
Earlier this year, several downtown businesses had to shut for days after radio and television host Techin Ploypetch, aka DJ Matoom, was found to be infected with COVID and threw a birthday party that led to an outbreak.
Outrage erupted over an apparent double standard in which VIPs were allowed to withhold information everyone else was required to disclose.
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