Northern Thailand
Chiang Mai Governor Helps Family of Hmong Girls Wrongly Accused of Stealing Watch on Social Media
Chiang Mai Governor Pawin Chamniprasart, accompanied by his wife who is president of Chiang Mai Thai Red Cross and other local officials, visited the Hmong family in Ban Doi Pui village in Muang district of Chiang Mai.
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The governor gave a cash gift to the family to boost their morale after the foreign media, including The Sun, reported last month that a foreign tourist claimed her wristwatch was stolen by the two girls, aged 10, when she was posing for a snapshot with them.
The photo of an American woman with two girls dressed in traditional Hmong clothes was posted on Reddit on with the caption “Girlfriend in the progress of having her watch stolen.â€
In the comments, the user, suggested the watch had gone missing and they decided the girls must have stolen it when they later saw the image. The post was later deleted after it attracted more than 4,000 comments.
He also mentioned being “a bit drunk†at the time, Khaosod Reported.
Nonetheless, media around the world ran with it without first proving their guilt.
Chiang Mai governor Pawin Chamniprasart, his wife Monsuda, who is the provincial Thai Red Cross president, promised to repair the family’s house and to arrange for the two girls to go back to Wat Doi Suthep so that they could make some earnings to help the family.
Governor Pawin also asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Sports and Tourism to clarify to the foreign media of their wrong reports which have hurt the feelings of the Hmong family and especially the young siblings.
Police said they have been unable to identify the tourists.