Thai influencer presents evidence to show donation money not pocketed

Social media influencer Sean Buranahiran, accompanied by his lawyer, went to the Pak Kret Police Station on Tuesday (July 21) to acknowledge allegations related to the donations he had collected to deal with forest fires in the North.

On June 30, Ronnarong Kaewpetch, leader of the Network of Campaigning for Justice, had filed a police complaint against Sean accusing him of “sharing false information via a computer system in a manner that is likely to cause damage to public” and receiving donations without official permission.

Meanwhile, Sean told police he had plenty of evidence to prove his innocence.

Sean had stopped appearing on his social media channels since the end of last month, but re-emerged on July 7 when he posted a recorded video message.

In the clip, Sean said Bt991,541.36 (S$43,500) of the total Bt1,338,644.01 raised through donations from March 30 to April 30, had been spent and called on the central organisation to inspect the statement and bills.

Sean also provided the evidence to Chiang Mai officials to prove that he had not used the money for his personal benefit.

There were 5,974 transactions and 167 statements, which showed Bt3,501.95 were transferred to his personal account, and between May 1 and June 28, Bt4,189.92 were added from 50 transactions.

Sean said he will provide further evidence once all the money has been sent to targeted organisations and the aim of the donation has been fulfilled.