BANGKOK: 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 such items 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 turns 27 next week.
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 Friday’s edition of The Nation newspaper. But as to any special treatment, he said, “We don’t observe double standards here.”
Pechaya could not be contacted Friday, but her father Supat said her purchases were not a problem and the issue would be clarified next week at a news conference to be held at an orphanage.
Thai actress grilled over Instagram pics of Hermes bags
Thai actress grilled over Instagram pics of Hermes bags
Makkah museum displays world’s largest Qur’an
MAKKAH: The Holy Qur’an Museum at the Hira Cultural District in Makkah is showcasing a monumental handwritten copy of the Holy Qur’an, recognized as the largest Qur’an of its kind in the world.
The manuscript measures 312 cm by 220 cm and comprises 700 pages, earning the museum recognition from Guinness World Records for displaying the world’s largest Qur’an, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The manuscript is a magnified reproduction of a historic Qur’an dating back to the 16th century, the SPA stated.
The original copy measures 45 cm by 30 cm, with the chapters written primarily in Thuluth script, while Surah Al-Fatiha was penned in Naskh, reflecting the refined artistic choices and calligraphic diversity of the era.
The Qur’an is a unique example of Arabic calligraphy, gilding and bookbinding, showcasing Islamic art through intricate decorations, sun-shaped motifs on the opening folio, and elaborately designed frontispiece and title pages that reflect a high level of artistic mastery.
The manuscript was endowed as a waqf in 1883. Its original version is currently preserved at the King Abdulaziz Complex for Endowment Libraries, serving as a lasting testament to Muslims’ enduring reverence for the Qur’an and the richness of Islamic arts across the centuries.
