Law student Thanapat Tantisevekul shows the licence plate he paid 25 million baht for .(Photos courtesy of the Land Transport Department)
By Terry Fredrickson
A university student has paid 25 million baht for a lucky licence plate for his quite ordinary Nissan Almera.
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Student pays B25m for 'lucky' licence plate
Amornrat Mahitthirook
A close look at the country's most expensive licence plate, priced at 25 million baht.
The country's most expensive licence plate now belongs to a rich Assumption University student who paid 25 million baht at auction for the right to affix it to his rather ordinary sedan.
The price tag for 1กก 1111 easily broke the previous record of 11 million baht set 11 years ago at the Land Transport Department's auction on March 15.
Department deputy director-general Asathai Ratanadilok na Phuket handed over the plate to Thanapat Tantisevekul on Tuesday.
The department allowed the 19-year-old law student to design the plate himself, and he came up with eight horses galloping along a river with nine gems on the river bed.
The picture printed on the plate portends luck and prosperity for life, Mr Asathai said.
Mr Thanapat said he was delighted to win the auction and felt the plate was ''not that expensive'', given that he had put aside 50 million baht to go up against other bidders.
He said he was determined to own this plate because it has seven ''1s'' in total, because ก (kor kai) is also the first letter in the Thai alphabet.
His win was not a surprise for his family.
''My family has taken part in auctions for auspicious numbers before, both in Bangkok and Chon Buri. So far we have at least 10 , with the cheapest plate costing 130,000 baht, for 1 กก 5115 , and this is the most expensive yet,'' he said after receiving the pricey plate.
Mr Thanapat's family owns a major real estate business in Chon Buri province. He refused to go into details about it.
Mr Thanapat said he had already been approached to sell it, with an offer of 33 million baht, but he refused. He had already put it on his car, a Nissan Almera.
He said his E CVT model car was not even top of the line and cost him only 498,000 baht – about one fiftieth of the price of the licence plate number.
"All cars, whether cheap or expensive, can have good licence plate numbers," he said.
The money from the auction will be contributed to the Road Safety Fund and other campaigns for safe driving and helping the disabled who are victims of road accidents.
"This auction is historic for me and my family and our contributing to society,'' the licence plate winner said.
The department has more auspicious licence plates for auction in the future – including 2 กก 2222, which will be up for grabs in February – and 9 กก 9999 in the next seven years.
Vocabulary
affix: to fasten something to something else - ผูก, ติด, ประทับ
approach: to speak to somebody about something, especially to ask them for something or to offer to do something - เข้าหา
auction: a usually public sale of goods or property, where people make higher and higher bids (= offers of money) for each thing, until the thing is sold to the person who will pay most - การขายโดยการประมูล, การขายทอดตลาด
auspicious: (opposite: inauspicious) suggesting a positive and successful future - ที่มีฤกษ์ดี
bidder: a person or company who makes an offer to buy/sell something at a specific price - ผู้ประมูล ผู้ยื่นเสนอราคา
campaign: a planned series of activities - การรณรงค์
cheap: costing little money or less money than you expected - ถูก
contribute: to give something, especially money or goods, to help somebody/something - บริจาค (เงินหรือเวลา), ให้ (เพื่อช่วยเหลือ)
courtesy: provided free by a person or an organisation -
delighted: very happy or satisfied about something - ยินดีมาก,สุขใจ
deputy: a person whose rank is immediately below that of the leader of an organisation - รอง
determined: wanting to do something very much and not letting anyone or any difficulties stop you - ตั้งใจจริง, ซึ่งมุ่งมั่น
disabled: having a condition, especially a physical one, that limits your activities in some way - พิการ
fund: money provided for something - เงินทุน กองทุน
gallop: (of a horse or other animal) to move very fast with each stride having a time when all four feet are off the ground together - ควบ
gem: a jewel (= precious stone), especially when cut into a particular regular shape - อัญมณี, เพชรพลอย
historic: of historical importance - ที่สำคัญในประวัติศาสตร์
licence plate: a flat piece of metal or plastic on the front and back of a vehicle that shows its license number - แผ่นป้ายทะเบียนรถยนต์
offer: an act of saying that you are willing to do something for somebody or give something to somebody - เสนอเพื่อให้พิจารณา
ordinary: not unusual or different in any way - ธรรมดา, ปกติ
portend: to be a sign or warning of something that will happen - บอกเหตุล่วงหน้า, เป็นลาง
pricey: very expensive - ซึ่งมีราคา, แพงมาก
prosperity: the situation of being successful and having a lot of money - ความมั่งคั่ง
put aside: to save something or keep it available to use - สำรองไว้ , เก็บ
real estate: property - อสังหาริมทรัพย์
record: the best or most ever achieved - สถิติ
refuse: to say or show that you will not do something that someone has asked you to do - ปฏิเสธ
river bed: the bottom of the river, underwater - ท้องคลอง, พื้นใต้น้ำของลำคลอง
sedan: a closed car with a front and back seat for passengers - รถยนต์ส่วนบุคคลสี่ประตู
take part in: to join and be part of some activity; participate as participant -
up for grabs: available to be won - มีให้ชิงชัยกัน
