Rock singer ‘Tik Shiro’ jailed for two years over fatal drink-driving incident

The Min Buri Criminal Court has sentenced famed pop-rock singer Manaswin "Tik Shiro" Nuntasane to two years in prison without suspension for a drink-driving incident that resulted in two deaths, and ordered the revocation of his driving licence.

The ruling was delivered on Wednesday in a case filed by public prosecutors against Mr Manaswin, 64, who was charged with driving under the influence causing death, reckless driving causing death and reckless driving causing damage to another person's property.

The charges stemmed from an incident that occurred at around 4am on Oct 10, 2024, when Manaswin, better known as “Tik Shiro”, drove a van into a motorcycle on a bridge at Theparak Road in Sukhaphiban 5 area of Bangkok’s Sai Mai district.

The collision killed Thianporn "Meiji" Siwapornpitak, 28, at the scene. Her younger brother, Chakkrapat "Junior", 21, a second-year humanities student at a prominent university, suffered critical injuries after falling about 10 metres from the bridge. He later died in hospital on March 18, 2025.

Investigators found that the singer's blood-alcohol level exceeded the legal limit of 50mg percent at the time of the incident.

Mr Manaswin arrived at court accompanied by his wife, Phantira Nuntasane, and his lawyer.

The victims' parents, Jeerawat Siwapornpitak and Haruthai Im-ueab, attended the hearing as co-plaintiffs.

The victims' father, Jeerawat Siwapornpitak, speaks to reporters after the court's ruling. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb)

During the proceedings, the defendant paid 3.5 million baht in compensation to the co-plaintiffs. However, the parties were unable to reach an agreement on civil damages.

The court found Mr Manaswin guilty of driving under the influence causing death and initially sentenced him to four years in prison. The sentence was reduced by half to two years because he pleaded guilty.

In deciding against a suspended sentence, the court said that the parties had yet to settle the civil compensation dispute and that the defendant's conduct was serious, as the drink-driving crash resulted in two fatalities. The court, therefore, ordered immediate imprisonment and revoked his driving licence.

After the ruling, Jeerawat told reporters that he accepted the verdict but called the two year sentence insufficient and will consult his lawyer about possible appeals.

Compensation has not been settled, as the plaintiffs initially sought 21 million baht and negotiated to around 18 million.

Reports of 24 million baht reflected a legal valuation, not an agreed demand. The defendant has paid roughly 3 million baht in preliminary compensation, not 3.5 million, including 250,000 for funeral and medical costs, insurance payouts and concert proceeds, plus an additional 500,000 deposited at Wednesday’s hearing, Mr Jeerawat said.

He also raised concerns about the alcohol test, noting that it was conducted seven hours after the crash rather than at the scene. The test recorded a blood-alcohol level of 106mg percent.

He questioned whether the delay could have legal implications, saying that if testing had been conducted immediately after the accident, the alcohol level might have exceeded 200mg percent.

Meanwhile, Mr Manaswin’s legal team is pursuing bail and plans to appeal.