Influencers arrested as suspects in deadly drinking dare
Victim reportedly challenged to drink entire bottle of liquor in exchange for 30,000 baht
Police on Saturday arrested two influencers in Chanthaburi and Pathum Thani provinces suspected of being involved in the death of another influencer, Thanakarn “Bank Leicester” Kanthee, earlier this week.
Thanakarn, 27, died at 3.40am on Thursday after taking on a challenge where he was to drink an entire bottle of liquor in exchange for 30,000 baht. An autopsy revealed the cause of death as acute heart failure.
Chanthaburi police on Saturday raided a house of Ekachart “Em” Meephrom, a famous influencer in Tha Mai district of Chanthaburi province, and charged him with negligence resulting in the death of another person.
While attending Thanakarn’s funeral on Friday, Ekachart reportedly admitted that he had dared the deceased to a drinking challenge because he had helped promote his newly opening supply store for free.
Ekachart also insisted that he did not know Thanakarn personally and did not hire him to appear at the opening event.
Investigators believed that Ekachart could be involved with online gambling website "curriculum51", which is believed to be backed by influential figures in Chanthaburi province. They are checking if Ekachart’s gun, mobile phones, SIM cards, and bank passbooks found at his house are linked to the website.
Ekachart was taken to a police holding cell on Saturday afternoon, while Chanthaburi provincial court reportedly denied his bail, citing that the case carries a severe penalty, and that the suspect has exhibited dangerous behaviour.
Separately, officers of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau on Saturday arrested Theerawat Srirot, an influencer and owner of the Facebook page “Bird Wan Wang Wang”, at his house in Pathum Thani province.
Theerawat is believed also to be involved in the challenge that led to Thanakarn’s death. However, police said he was initially charged with importing pornographic data to a publicly accessible computer system.
More details will be revealed at a press event Saturday evening, police said.
