Thai police initiative helps loan shark victims get lands back

[webfact]

Police initiative helps loan shark victims get lands back

By Seksanti Kalayanawisut, 
Prasit Tangprasert 
Jessada Chantharak, 
Kornakmon Aksorndej, 
The Nation

 

Informal debtors pose for the camera, along with the Provincial Police Region 1 officers, after yesterday’s ceremony in a conference hall at Thammasat University’s Rangsit Campus.

 

Prawit reiterates govt pledge to end inequality as land deeds of hundreds are returned.

 

HUNDREDS OF Thais reeling under huge loans were smiling again yesterday when Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwon and senior police officers handed them their land title deeds and other assets in ceremonies nationwide. 

 

 

The assets had been seized from the debtors under “unfair loan contracts”, but later retrieved as part of police-brokered debt settlements. Many debtors vowed that they would never use their land as collateral for loans again. 

 

Prawit, who oversees police affairs, presided over the ceremony titled “Keun Kwamsuk Hai Prachachon Lod Kwam Luamlam Khong Sangkhom” (Returning Happiness to the People, Reducing Inequality in Society) in the Muang district of Udon Thani province. Some 700 land-title deeds covering over 3,600 rai (576 hectare) and worth a total of Bt1.8 billion were returned at the event to 704 debtors from Udon Thani and 11 Northeast provinces. 

 

 

Prawit said the government was determined to end inequality and had, so far, helped return assets worth Bt2.7 billion to their rightful owners. 

 

He congratulated the informal debtors who participated in yesterday’s ceremony, and those who will be getting their land-title deeds covering more than 7,000 rai back soon. 

 

“The government has made this a national agenda. This issue has never been successfully solved before. So please don’t put your land-title deeds in their [loan sharks] hands again, or they will do this to you again. Be careful of what you sign, and don’t be so desperate as to sign an empty paper,” Prawit advised. 

 

Udon Thani resident Darunee Suriyapak, 61, who endured a decade-long ordeal of losing her land to a loan shark after borrowing money to fund a young relative’s job-hunting trip to Israel, said she and others like her were overjoyed that they had got their land back. 

 

“It was a dark time before we got our title deeds back. Today is our happiest day,” she said, adding that her relative had not returned to Thailand. She said she had learned a lesson from the ordeal. 

 

Nakhon Phanom resident Pranee Srimongkol, 53, who mortgaged her 800-square-metre plot to fund her children’s education, said that even though she has been paying regularly, she never seemed to have paid enough to get her land back. Her children have already completed their studies. 

 

“I’m so happy I’ve got my land deed back,” she said tearfully, as she thanked everybody who made this possible.

 

Thung Sri Muang, a large open-air plaza downtown, was filled with 10,000 participants in the ceremony, which also featured live music. 

 

Successful negotiations

 

Deputy Tourist Police chief Maj-General Surachate Hakpan said police had negotiated with loan sharks and taken over title deeds covering 285 rai of land worth Bt130 million and had handed them over to 135 informal debtors in Khon Kaen province last month.

 

Success in that project led to Prawit ordering the police to offer similar aid to more victims, most of whom are poor farmers in the Northeast.

 

 

Also yesterday, the Provincial Police Region 3 – covering the eight lower Northeast provinces – presented land-title deeds covering 3,000 rai and worth nearly Bt900 million, along with 50 cars and motorcycles, back to some 900 informal debtors in Nakhon Ratchasima province.

 

In Bangkok, city police chief Lt-General Chanthep Sesawet presided over the return of assets to 12 informal debtors. He also reported that city police had arrested 69 loan sharks from July 29 to August 15 and had so far completed investigation into 32 of the 61 complaints about unfair loans filed with police since October last year. 

 

 

The Provincial Police Region 1 hosted a ceremony in Pathum Thani province to return some 90 title deeds, some 80 motorcycles and other assets worth Bt85 million to 256 informal debtors. The Provincial Police Region 2 held a ceremony in Chon Buri province to return land-title deeds, 10 cars and 11 motorcycles to 42 people, while announcing the successful negotiation for a lower interest for 144 others.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30352321

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-08-17

[Bluespunk]

It is a rule . . . in all the world that interest is to be paid on borrowed money. May I say something about interest? Interest never sleeps nor sickens nor dies; it never goes to the hospital; it works on Sundays and holidays; it never takes a vacation; it never visits nor travels . . . it has no love, no sympathy; it is as hard and soulless as a granite cliff. Once in debt, interest is your companion every minute of the day and night; you cannot shun it or slip away from it; you cannot dismiss it; it yields neither to entreaties, demands nor orders; and whenever you get in its way or cross its course or fail to meet its demands, it crushes you.

 

J. Reuben Clark Jr.

[stanleycoin]

Hope they have learned and don't do it again.

What you reckon ? 

[doremifasol]

First picture from top is heavily photoshopped.

 

Looks like it is but it is not. 

[Disting]

Oh I am so happy I have my land title back again. Now can I borrow some money please, have land title for collateral. Or is that too cynical.

[Samui Bodoh]

I am curious as to how many 'loan sharks' were either police themselves or associated with the police.

 

As we already have photos of a smiling Prawit, I am sure the investigation is underway and the results will be published widely...

 

(sarcasm alert)

 

 

Edited August 16, 2018 by Samui Bodoh
Lack of coffee

[colinneil]

1 hour ago, stanleycoin said:

Hope they have learned and don't do it again.

What you reckon ? 

I reckon that most of the debtors are smiling because they have their land deeds back ready to use again next week to borrow even more money.

[LazySlipper]

I like the guy with the cannabis T-shirt. Wonder what he gave up his land deed for? Maybe a front on dope?

 

I'm willing to bet that a lot of these people had to actually give up their deeds for gambling debts. Serious problem here, and seems from what I have heard about from many friends, that many gamblers are actually women. 

 

Don't drink don't smoke, what do you do?

Edited August 16, 2018 by LazySlipper

[canuckamuck]

I find it hard to be cynical on this one. Hopefully they take this break and make the best of it.

[kotsak]

20 minutes ago, LazySlipper said:

I like the guy with the cannabis T-shirt. Wonder what he gave up his land deed for? Maybe a front on dope?

 

I'm willing to bet that a lot of these people had to actually give up their deeds for gambling debts. Serious problem here, and seems from what I have heard about from many friends, that many gamblers are actually women. 

 

Don't drink don't smoke, what do you do?

Hoes? ?

[kannot]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Many debtors vowed that they would never use their land as collateral for loans again. 

BS

[robblok]

Who said that there won't be an election soon...  recently the junta is picking up with their PR stunts. 

 

Anyway still a good deed done, i wonder how many will learn from it.

[kannot]

The more they give them a "get out of jail free" card the more they will abuse it.

[kannot]

Ah  look at the little  people hugging "Uncle"?

[fxe1200]

3 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

It is a rule . . . in all the world that interest is to be paid on borrowed money. May I say something about interest? Interest never sleeps nor sickens nor dies; it never goes to the hospital; it works on Sundays and holidays; it never takes a vacation; it never visits nor travels . . . it has no love, no sympathy; it is as hard and soulless as a granite cliff. Once in debt, interest is your companion every minute of the day and night; you cannot shun it or slip away from it; you cannot dismiss it; it yields neither to entreaties, demands nor orders; and whenever you get in its way or cross its course or fail to meet its demands, it crushes you.

 

J. Reuben Clark Jr.

 

Thai people cannot calculate interest. Check out car/motorcycle dealers and their financing tables. They are all wrong. They outsource the financing and cannot even control, what is being charged. Interest in Thailand is calculated from the credit amount, and the "annuity" is neglected everywhere, and for good reasons: maximum profit!

 

Here is an example from a pawnshop in Trang:

 

Imagine you pawn your  own  motorcycle (leaving the green book) for 12.000 payable in 12 installments over one year. They will tell you, that you only pay 2.5% interest per month on the amount credited plus a monthly processing fee of 24THB. Sounds reasonable to me, but it is not.

 

Repayment per month:  1.000THB

          2.5 % from 12.000:   300THB

         Processing fee:          24 THB

 

Monthly installments in arrears: 1.324 THB over 12 month.  Effective interest rate: 71,668%!!

 

The legal maximum rate in Thailand is 36% p.a.

 

If you want to buy something using a financial service provider, as being offered by the mayor car and motorcycle dealers, first calculate by yourself at : http://vindeep.com/Calculators/EMICompare.aspx

 

A bank loan definitively is much cheaper, especially because financial service providers add around 4% as an insurance fee for nonperforming loans.

 

[khunPer]

1 hour ago, fxe1200 said:

The legal maximum rate in Thailand is 36% p.a.

Might be that for approved credit institutions, whilst for private loans it's 15% a year.

[sammieuk1]

Hands up who's got a dead friend photo 1 hands up with a massive watch collection photo 2 ? 

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, fxe1200 said:

 

Thai people cannot calculate interest. Check out car/motorcycle dealers and their financing tables. They are all wrong. They outsource the financing and cannot even control, what is being charged. Interest in Thailand is calculated from the credit amount, and the "annuity" is neglected everywhere, and for good reasons: maximum profit!

 

Here is an example from a pawnshop in Trang:

 

Imagine you pawn your  own  motorcycle (leaving the green book) for 12.000 payable in 12 installments over one year. They will tell you, that you only pay 2.5% interest per month on the amount credited plus a monthly processing fee of 24THB. Sounds reasonable to me, but it is not.

 

Repayment per month:  1.000THB

          2.5 % from 12.000:   300THB

         Processing fee:          24 THB

 

Monthly installments in arrears: 1.324 THB over 12 month.  Effective interest rate: 71,668%!!

 

The legal maximum rate in Thailand is 36% p.a.

 

If you want to buy something using a financial service provider, as being offered by the mayor car and motorcycle dealers, first calculate by yourself at : http://vindeep.com/Calculators/EMICompare.aspx

 

A bank loan definitively is much cheaper, especially because financial service providers add around 4% as an insurance fee for nonperforming loans.

 

 

Not only interest.

 

Yesterday I went to swampy to check-in for a flight. Departure time 14.00 on my e.ticket. I went to the specific check-in desk and girl says 'start check-in 3 hours ahead', then she put herself through hell counting backwards on her watch o count on her watch then using the calculator her smartphone to tell me what time check-in opens.

 

She gave up and went to ask the supervisor. The answer I got was 'don chao' (in the morning).

 

I walked away. 

[AtoZ]

10 hours ago, stanleycoin said:

Hope they have learned and don't do it again.

What you reckon ? 

I think the lesson here is

 

You get the money, and your collateral back if you screw up

[Pib]

This is great....in getting their land (collateral) back they can now go get another loan.

[smutcakes]

Can someone basically say what has happened here.

Have the debts been repaid by the public? Have the loan sharks happily agreed to waive the debts? What exactly does it mean that the debts have been restructured?