The Lawyers Council of Thailand has stepped in to help a single mother of three children, who is under threat from an informal creditor charging her 800 baht interest per hour until she repays her debt, which has now ballooned to 40,000 baht.
The victim, only identified as 31-year-old ‘Ratanakorn’, a resident of the Khlong Thom district of Krabi province, told Silpaprasert Kongyong, head of the Krabi chapter of the Lawyers Council, that she originally borrowed 15,000 baht from an informal lender in September last year, with an agreement to pay him 1,500 baht in interest per day.
She claimed that she had been paying her creditor for several months, to the tune of about 300,000 baht, and the principal amount remains the same, adding that the creditor has called her with a threat to charge her 800 baht per hour in interest, until she repays the principal.
She also said the creditor suggested that she take out another loan from him, to settle the overdue interest payments, resulting in an increase of the principal owed to 40,000 baht.
She also claimed that the creditor had intimidated her three children at their school and had threatened to harm her and her family, adding that she could no longer afford to pay the creditor and decided to seek help from the council.
A complaint was filed with Sai Khao district police on Friday by Ratanakorn, with the help of Silpaprasert.
The creditor remains unperturbed, however, claiming that he is connected to “influential figures” in the province.
