Pattaya Daily News

Pattaya, 21 July 2010 (PDN): This afternoon, Mikhail Pletnev, accompanied by his faithful manager Somphong Yemuray (manager of his badminton club) once again visited the Court of Pattaya, which allowed him to leave the country until July 30th, when he should return again under the terms of his release on bail. According to yet unconfirmed information, the permission to temporarily exit the country was granted to him against additional bail payment.

On the eve of this day “Pattaya Daily News” correspondent managed to talk with Mikhail Pletnev on the phone. At this time the musician sounded a little more emotional in a conversation with the reporter than he usually was. In particular, he shared that he had to urgently fly to Russia to attend a birthday party of his 89-year-old mother, who is known to have accompanied him only a few days ago on his concert tour to Macedonia.

Moreover, he admitted that he simply did not understand what had caused his persecution by the media, especially the Russian media. He said he was simply shocked by a video posted on a Russian news website of a young man, posing as a 14-year old boy, who said that he had sex with him. PDN reporter then visited the “Life News” website specified by Mr Pletnev and could do nothing, but admit the fact that the material posted on its pages was if not shocking, then, at least, really confusing.

Not to mention 10 years added to Mr Pletnev’s true age, as the author referred to him as a 63-year-old musician, not a single paragraph of this “creation” would stand criticism of any Russian who lived in Thailand for a length of time. Quote: “The Pletnev’s house on the outskirts of Pattaya even by Russian standards could not be called cheap”. This single phrase will make a reader imagine a luxurious mansion a nest of depravity. In fact, everything is just the opposite.

One of his houses, in which he lives, when coming to Pattaya, is so simple and modest that one hardly believes that it belongs to a world celebrity. Even by Thai standards, forgive us, Mr. Pletnev, this house is, at best, short of the average. The second house, located next to the badminton club, is in a much neglected state, and it seems, already in great need of repair. True, there is also the badminton club, built by Mr Pletnev, which is accessible to all residents of Pattaya for a very minimal entry fee. There are badminton courts, gym, large swimming pool and a club cafeteria. All this lives its own life, even in the absence of the owner, but is of no interest to “Life News” journalist.

Then the daring author of the article boldly reveals the intricacies of Thai law of which he has very little if any knowledge. Quote: “… in Thai law there is a loophole that attracts the perverts to this country from all over the world: sex with a minor is not considered a crime if it was consensual.” And this is a corresponding fragment of Article 277 of the Penal Code of Thailand, that Mr. Pletnev is accused of: “Molesting of a minor under the age of 15 years, regardless of whether it is committed with or without the consent …” After providing the readers with such misinformation the author’s attempts to make us believe in a video interview with an allegedly molested teenager looked very dubious.

The fourteen-year-old “teenager from a remote Thai village”, brazenly tells us about his sexual relationship with Mr. Pletnev, for some reason looks like a man of at least twenty years old. He gives us a full impression of a person responding to questions relying on a poorly memorized English text. A couple of times this “country boy” tries to use more complicated grammatical forms, of which he obviously has little if any understanding. Above all, what really strikes us is his readiness to say “yes” without hesitation to any reporter’s target questions.

After thoroughly and repeatedly viewing the video and reading the article, which caused Mr. Pletnev’s outrage and who claimed that he had never met or seen this young man, a PDN correspondent admits that this interview seems to be full of holes

Mr. Pletnevs’ business visa has been cancelled, but he is still able to enter Thailand due to his appointment with the court for his next report on the 30th July.

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