Online influencer criticised after beach stunt

An influencer with more than 14 million subscribers was criticised after he drove his car onto a popular beach in Chumphon province to create content for his followers.

The “SpriteDer SPD” channel, operated by Netijenn Pakuikham, has garnered 3.38 billion views and 14.1 million subscribers since its founding ten years ago.

On Sunday, Netijenn drove his black Tesla onto a beach at about 5:30pm in Langsuan district. The beach is always crowded with tourists and runners.

His attempt came to an abrupt end when his car got stuck in the sand, but the incident went viral after being filmed by passers-by and posted on many social media platforms.

It attracted hundreds of comments, mostly negative, criticising his actions as inappropriate and as setting a bad example to others.

Commentators called for the authorities to take action against Netijenn.

Many passers-by did, however, take the opportunity to snap selfies with the Youtuber and complimented him for the attempt.

Meanwhile, Pinsak Suraswadi, Director-General of the Marine and Coastal Resources Department, told reporters that the action was inappropriate, because a beach is a sensitive area and many marine animals could have been affected by the act.

By law, however, the area is not protected, so no legal action can be taken.

The act may, though, have violated traffic regulations, he added, noting that a similar incident occurred on a beach in Phuket.

by Marisa Chimprabha