Celebs broke law: panel
THE ALCOHOLIC Drinks Control Subcom-mittee has said celebrities and an alcohol brand violated the 2008 Alcohol Control Act when they posted pictures of themselves posing with the brand on social media.
Eighteen other celebrities will be invited to testify from November 11-16.
The Act forbids the advertising of alcohol, even the display of brand logos and “enticing” others to drink, and those violating it are subject to a maximum jail term of one year and/or a fine up to Bt500,000.
The panel’s office director, Dr Samarn Futrakul, said yesterday evidence relating to the 15 celebrities would be passed onto police and public prosecutors after November 3, once they have provided testimonies.
Lawsuits would be filed against the celebrities individually because each gave different degrees of cooperation to the subcommittee, Samarn said, adding that some of the celebs had also posted photos of them posing with different alcohol brands. The courts would decide their punishments, he said.
The 15 celebrities have been divided into two groups. One comprises the seven people who posed with the beer product and whose name was on a marketing activity list.
The second group comprises the eight people who posed with the product, but were not on the marketing activity list.
The first group includes Virithipa “VJ Woonsen” Yamnam, and Wichian “DJ Petjah” Kusolmanomai, while second includes Pakorn “Dome” Lam and Thanchanok “Bebe” Ritnaka.
“Celebrities who give good cooperation to the authorities, will be considered in a way that benefits the accused,” Samarn said.
As Virithipa had last week confessed to doing it for business, her manager would be summoned for more information, Samarn said.
Other celebrities’ managers would be asked who recommended the job when their clients testified, he added.
