"She is so worried, she neither sleeps nor eats," Yongyuth's younger sister La-ong Tiyapairat said yesterday.

La-ong was speaking before the Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy (CDRM) confirmed that Yongyuth, like ousted PM's Office Minister Newin Chidchob, was detained after they reported to the CDRM yesterday afternoon.

La-ong said she too was worried about her brother's safety at first, but her feelings changed as the coup unfolded without any violence.

"Now I am worried about my mom. She's more than 70 years old," La-ong said, adding she did her best to console her mother, telling her that Yongyuth would be fine.

Karuna Chidchob, wife of Newin, declined to give any interviews, other than saying she was fine.

Currently, only Prommin Lertsuridej and Chidchai Vanasatidya have been detained in different rooms at the Armed Forces Security Centre by the CDRM.

However, their families are reportedly unconcerned.

A source close to Prommin's wife, Mathaya, said she was still going about her activities as usual and was not worried because she had visited Prommin to give him clothes and other necessities on Wednesday morning.

According to the source, Mathaya has learnt that her husband is doing fine.

A housemaid who has worked for Chidchai for decades yesterday disclosed that Chidchai's wife too was not showing any signs of worry.

"During the past two days, she still smiles and acts like nothing is wrong," she said.

The housemaid herself said she was frightened to see soldiers entering Chidchai's house on Tuesday. "Then, when I heard that Than [a polite title] Chidchai was detained, I was concerned for his safety. I was worried that he might have been assaulted," the housemaid said.

However, she said Chidchai's wife, Achara, did not show any signs of worry when she returned home late Tuesday night. Normally, Achara would not come home so late.

Meanwhile, Thaksin Shinawatra's younger sister Montathip Kovitcharoenkul was reported missing from her office yesterday and did not attend her masters degree class at Chulalongkorn University.

Montathip, whose is a distributor for the leading handset M Link, has kept a very low profile compared to other Shinawatra members. She rarely appears in public, preferring to spend her time studying and practising Buddhism.

A source close to her said Montathip had heard about the coup rumour a day before it happened and was worried about her relatives - but not about her business as it had nothing to do with politics.

Budsarakham Sinlapalavan

The Nation