Pechaya Wattanamontri’s Instagram post, which has since been deleted
BANGKOK (AP) — Flaunting one’s wealth is a popular avocation among Thailand’s well-to-do, but one actress may find it as costly as a few high-fashion handbags.
Pechaya Wattanamontri posted photos of herself on Instagram with nine boxed Hermes handbags that she purchased abroad. A video also circulated of her purchasing one of the luxury bags, which cost upward of $3,000 apiece.
It wasn’t long before people raised a few awkward questions, such as whether she paid the 30 percent customs duty on them and whether celebrities get special treatment.
The Customs Department chief told inquiring reporters that the actress has been contacted to clarify the matter.
The photos have been deleted from Instagram, but in their captions, Pechaya called the bags she bought in Singapore a pre-birthday gift to herself. The actress on a number of Thai television dramas and soaps turned 27 on April 28.
Customs Director-General Kulit Sombatsiri said if duties still needed to be paid, then the tariff plus a fine will be levied. “There are over 1,000 flights arriving a day, so we can’t check everyone,” he was quoted as saying in The Nation newspaper. But as to any special treatment, he said, “We don’t observe double standards here.”