BANGKOK — Four actresses accused of endorsing a cosmetics brand with bogus license numbers turned themselves in to police Thursday and said they weren’t aware of the forgery.
Saying they were as much of victims as the consumers, the celebs – among 16 TV personalities summoned by the police – told reporters they had checked for Food and Drug Administration serial numbers in the products Magic Skin paid them to promote on social media. The numbers turned out to be fake.
“If I become a suspect in this case, I’d be very sad, because I’m also one of the people who were fooled,” Nontaporn “Ying Yae” Teerawatanasuk told reporters before she reported to police this morning.
Read: 9 More Celebs Summoned for Advertising Fake Cosmetics
She was accompanied by Phitchanat “May” Sakhakon, Napapa “Pat” Tantrakul and Orapan “Aoffy Maxim” Dansiwattanakun. Phitchanat also said she was not aware at the time that the license number on the cosmetics was fake. She added that she tried some of the skincare products herself, making a victim like many others.
“Everything they sent me, I tried it,” Phichanat said. “So, I’m also a consumer.”
Their meeting with investigators today was preemptive, as police have yet to formally summon any of them.
The officer in charge of the investigation, Weerachai Songmetta, could not be reached for comment as of publication time. His aide said he’s in a meeting.
Eight people have been arrested in connection with the Magic Skin brand scandal, which the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, said was operating illegally. Police also raided buildings registered as the firm’s offices and confiscated its products.
