Thai TV presenter and husband remanded over alleged charity donations misuse

BANGKOK - Thai television presenter Panadda “Boom” Wongphudee and her husband, Atip “Got” Anantawan, were remanded in custody for 12 days on Nov 7 in an investigation into alleged misuse of donations to the Ongkorn Thamdee Foundation charity.Panadda did not request temporary release during the investigation. Relatives submitted a bail application and security on Atip’s behalf, but Thailand’s Criminal Court rejected his request.The Criminal Court granted investigators’ request to detain the couple from Nov 7 to 18 after they were brought to court by officers from Thailand’s Economic Crime Suppression Division in the morning.Panadda, 51, is the foundation’s former chairwoman. Atip, 53, is a businessman.According to police accounts of the investigation, Panadda faces allegations of jointly defrauding the public, entering false information into a computer system under the Computer Crime Act 2007, and jointly laundering money.Atip faces a joint money-laundering charge.The police reported that the couple initially denied the allegations during questioning.The court rejected Atip’s bail petition, citing the severity of the allegations in the remand application. The case reportedly involves more than 900,000 donor accounts with alleged losses exceeding 900 million baht (S$34.3 million).The court said there were reasonable grounds to believe Atip would interfere with witnesses or tamper with evidence if released, obstructing and damaging the investigation.Investigators and complainants had also urged for him to be kept in custody.The police opposed bail for the couple, citing the substantial alleged losses, the severity of potential penalties, and concerns that the suspects could flee or interfere with evidence.Corrections officers later took Panadda to the Central Women Correctional Institution and Atip to Bangkok Remand Prison. THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK