Addendum
Bangkok Airways scion succeeds disgraced father in top job
February 1st 2019
Captain Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth has added the positions of CEO and vice chairman of Bangkok Airways to his responsibilities as president of the carrier following the recent resignation of his father and airline founder, Dr. Prasert Prasartthong-Osoth (85) from the company. Read More »
On January 21, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) forced Prasartthong-Osoth senior to relinquish all involvement with Bangkok Airways and also his position as chairman of Bangkok Dusit Medical Services.
Along with his daughter, Poramaporn, and executive secretary, Mrs Narumon Chainaknam, he was charged with manipulating the share registers of both the airline group and the medical services company for personal gain from November 2015 to January 2016. Both women resigned from their positions at the airline and the hospital group on the same day. Poramaporn was chief operating officer of Bangkok Dusit. Other members of the family are board directors of the companies.
The SEC imposed fines of 500 million baht (US$15.8 million) on the trio at the time of the resignations despite all three parties insisting they are innocent of the charges. The SEC said the penalty shows the offenders are liable to possess “untrustworthy characteristics” for a director or an executive of a listed company.
At press time, Bangkok Airways announced new board procedures, including signatories of two non-related directors and the issuance of a company seal by the airline board for all decisions it takes.
The billionaire surgeon, who built a private hospital business into a regional medical services group, later added the airports of Koh Samui (1989), Sukhothai (1996) and Trat (2003) to the family empire. The family retains full control of the three facilities.
Prasartthong-Osoth is listed as a six per cent shareholder in Bangkok Airways and an 18.4% investor in Bangkok Dusit, Thailand’s largest hospital and medical services network. The family, through a separate company, also holds majority control of Siem Reap Airways.
