does not display utf8 charset correctly

I’ve added this line to the _construct function:
$this->db->set_charset(DB_CHARSET);

and it doe the job now.
——
Also – is it possible to set a variable for the plugin class?
$sql_executioner = new SQL_Executioner_Plugin();

I’m building a plug-in for a client’s site. And need to “hijack” other plugins’ menu pages. Having a variable allows me to this non-destructively. ie. without editing sql-executioner’s code directly.

Thank you