Lawyer and his superstar former client

File photo: Sittra Biabangkerd

Tumultuous developments concerning famous lawyer Sittra Biabangkerd were not the only big surprise in the ongoing Loong Phol case. Things have changed beyond recognition as far as Thailand’s arguably most-celebrated criminal suspect is concerned.

To start with, the dead girl’s mother has divorced the father, who went on to become a TikTok star with frequent postings of his solo dance with Thai country music in the background.

Chaiyaphol Wipha, the girl’s uncle in law whom the Criminal Court has sentenced to 20 years in jail for the disappearance leading to death of their three-year-old daughter, has fired most of his YouTubers, who once formed a formidable pro-Loong Phol shield, and secluded himself.

The dead child’s real uncle, Narin Larppho, has turned venomously against the mother, using a YouTube channel that until late last year lashed out at Chaiyaphol, aka Loong Phol, on a daily basis.

This development, however, is nothing compared to an about-turn of another main YouTube channel that was once a gathering place of those who supported the mother who was perceived to be unfairly discredited despite having lost a child.

But if you think that the mother is now getting increasingly isolated, you are dead wrong.

She is well protected, but guess by whom. YouTubers who were vehemently pro-Loong Phol two years ago have defected to her side, forming an unlikely but highly effective alliance that virtually announces that anyone wanting to attack her will have to do it over their dead bodies.

The pro- and anti-Loong Phol camps are watching the Sittra development with great interest. It gives everyone a brand-new perspective.

Initially, the vociferous breakup between Chaiyaphol and Sittra was thought to be over case details or “lack of respect” the former showed the latter. Now, attention is switching to money.

The pro-Loong Phol camp is now stating that “exposure” against Sittra has confirmed its belief that an innocent and poor man had been a subject of extortions. The other side says the ballooning Sittra controversy only underlines how much financial vested interests have plagued the Loong Phol case.

Late last year, Chaiyaphol was sentenced by the Criminal Court to 20 years in prison for the death of three-year-old child Orawan Wongsricha, or “Nong Chompoo”, who was his wife’s niece.

The girl disappeared on May 11, 2020. Three days later, her body was found naked, up on a hill several kilometres from her house in Mukdahan’s Ban Kok Kok Village.

Chaiyaphol became a suspect after the discovery of the body, but, due largely to his tears, much if not all of the mainstream media portrayed him as a helpless, impoverished and naïve man and he subsequently attracted unheard-of sympathy and popularity.

From a family that used blankets as parts of house and toilet walls, he and his wife Somporn managed to buy a brand-new van. His fan club that existed throughout Thailand and much overseas sent trucks loaded with furniture and basic necessities to the couple’s home, which was to be renovated beyond recognition.

Cash donations flooded Loong Phol. Nobody knew exactly how much, but by all accounts the amount was obscene, and it changed his financial status overnight. Other gifts continuously arrived.

Video clips of him eating rice and plain omelet drew millions of views on YouTube. When he announced that he would like to build a naga statue, several hundred thousand donations poured in in a heartbeat.

He sang and received rock-star welcome on big concert stages and graced fashion catwalks along with his wife, who was also charged by the police as the accomplice.

He was hired to promote products, put an end to the new, lucrative job and set up a company selling his own cosmetic goods. His relationship with the mainstream changed as he became more aggressive and surrounded himself with his own loyal army of YouTubers.

Renowned lawyer Sittra stepped in to represent the couple. Soon rumours and gossips swirled claiming massive fan club donations that were supposed to go directly to Chaiyaphol reached Sittra instead.

At the time, however, claims about “misdirected” donations were overshadowed in the mainstream media by Sittra’s insistence that he had lost the will to work for Loong Phol because the suspect treated him badly. The lawyer also suggested some disagreements over case details were huge.

Sittra, for one thing, said publicly that he did not believe the three-year-old child was able to walk up the mountain to the spot where her body was found.

Chaiyaphol’s new lawyers defended him with a key argument that the girl was led astray while playing with a dog, got lost, wandered up the mountain and then died in extreme forest conditions.

How the girl got up to the fateful spot was crucial in the case. If the child was deemed unable to get there by herself, it would be a legal blow to Chaiyaphol, who police said was the only person apart from the parents to be able to take her from her house without her making a noise.

Chaiyaphol lost the case in the Criminal Court in December last year but he managed to bail himself out and vowed to appeal all the way to the Supreme Court. His wife was acquitted as an accomplice by the Mukdahan Criminal Court, but whether or not the Appeals Court will put her back in as the other suspect remains to be seen.

The Criminal Court did not deem Chaiyaphol the outright murderer, but ruled that he was definitely responsible for the girl’s disappearance. While he is appealing that verdict, so is the mother, who does not think her child’s death was unintentional or an accidental outcome of playful “abduction” gone horrible wrong.

The mother insists that the child was “intentionally” left to die because that would solve all problems of whoever took her. It was first kidnapping and then murder, the mother says.

Before the verdict, Chaiyaphol and his wife moved from Mukdahan to Sakon Nakhon along with their two young sons. They bought a massive plot of land on which they created a naga complex, a big house and built a virtual game room for their kids.

Nobody knows how much of that has come from donations.

Media spotlight on Sittra has renewed interest in Loong Phol. Among the networks returning to Chaiyaphol is an outlet led by the much-criticised newscaster who helped turned him into one of the most celebrated criminal suspects.

At an interview this week, Chaiyaphol cried again for no apparent reason, suggesting Sittra ungratefully betrayed him. With accumulating allegations that Sittra only focused on vested, dishonest interest, Chaiyaphol’s followers are saying that the lawyer was there to take advantage of the suspect’s massive and highly-generous fan club.

The Sittra controversy confirms that Chaiyaphol was an innocent man that everyone wanted to take advantage of, the supporters say. They are comfortable with his wealth, saying all good men are often rewarded one way or another.

Loong Phol’s detractors say they are now convinced that the Sittra-Chaiyaphol fallout is a result of a failure to “share the cake”. They believe accusations against the lawyer, who denies all the charges.

Sittra has been so embroiled in damaging claims that the man who never shied away from media spotlight is avoiding it a lot of times lately. Chaiyaphol, meanwhile, is getting back on the centre stage that he apparently craves. The tears are coming back, of course.

His critics are warning that even if Sittra was proved to be wrong, it didn’t mean Loong Phol was innocent.

In other words, the detractors are saying that it was so difficult to put the genie back in the bottle, so everyone the media and social media must not let it out again.