Twist in case of girl’s arrest over krathong character
After the picture of a 15-year-old girl from Nakhon Ratchasima province selling krathongs with the shapes of popular Japanese characters was shared on social media, men claiming to be copyright agents in Thailand made a buy then got the girl arrested by police and ordered her to pay a Bt50,000 fine.
However, the event quickly became an Internet sensation after TAC Consumer – the authorised agent of San-X, a Japanese stationery company known for creating and marketing cute characters such as Rilakkuma in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and Myanmar – stated that the company hadn’t appealed or complained to any copyright agents or police to arrest anyone.
The company said it was consulting with its legal team to discover the truth behind the whole ruckus and bring to justice the persons responsible. They emphasised that the company would continue to run its business with fairness, transparency and under the rightful principal of preserving its sustainability.
Deputy permanent secretary for Justice Tawatchai Thaikyo published a message on his Facebook page saying that the adolescent was only trying to help her family, and the demand for her to pay a fine of Bt50,000 was an inappropriate approach, which could cause the girl trauma.
The process should begin with a warning and then the case should be taken up as corporate social responsibility to encourage children to behave and move in the right direction, he added.