CHIANG MAI: Chiang Mai authorities yesterday offered moral and financial support to a hill tribe couple whose daughters were wrongfully accused by the international media of stealing a wristwatch from a foreign visitor at a tourist attraction.
Chiang Mai governor Pawin Chamniprasart, his wife Monsuda, who is the provincial Thai Red Cross president, and other local officials visited the Hmong family in Ban Doi Pui village in Muang Chiang Mai district.
The delegation consoled two Hmong siblings aged 10 and seven after foreign media including the UK's The Sun newspaper posted reports late last month about a foreign tourist claiming her wristwatch had been stolen by the sisters when she was posing for a snapshot with them in Hmong traditional dress.
The female tourist was holding hands with the two girls wearing hill tribe dress. The picture shows the seven-year-old girl appearing to fiddle with the watch on the female tourist. The image went viral after it was uploaded onto social media site Reddit.
The Chiang Mai governor gave a cash gift to the girls' family to lift their morale and said police doubted earlier reports. It was later proved the young siblings were innocent.
The governor said he was concerned about the two girls and arranged for their return to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep for donation-raising photo activities. However, he would ensure the activities were held in an orderly and visitor-friendly manner.
His delegation also gave scholarships to the girls and promised to help improve their house.