Nearly a week after Thai TV actress Nida “Tangmo” Patcharaveerapong drowned in a speedboat crash, the truth about exactly what happened is slowly emerging.
On February 24, the 37-year-old went on a pleasure cruise along the Chao Phraya River on a speedboat with five companions. When she went to the back of the boat to relieve herself, she allegedly fell overboard accidentally.
She was not wearing a life jacket and her body was found two days later.
In a March 3 report citing a police source, the Bangkok Post said Thai police had uncovered new evidence.
After locating boat owner Tanupat Lerttaweewit’s phone, police discovered that the man had consulted several people for advice after Nida fell. He confessed to an individual that one of Nida’s companions, Phaiboon Trikanjananun, was steering the vessel at the time of the accident, although he did not have a license to drive the speedboat.
Trikanjananun reportedly lost control of the ship, prompting Nida to grab another of his companions, Wisapat Manomairat, to avoid falling, a Region 1 provincial police source said.
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Fearing that she would also be swept into the river, Manomairat claimed that she shook Nida, who fell overboard. His right thigh was severed by a propeller blade, according to the source.
According to another police source, another passenger made a different statement, saying the boat suddenly jerked causing Nida to fall.
One of the sources said the five passengers would likely be charged with negligence causing death and making false statements to police. The investigations are continuing.
kwokkarpeng@asiaone.com
