Picture courtesy: Daily News

 

Cyber police have arrested a notorious loan shark in Nakhon Si Thammarat known for charging steep interest rates of up to 20% per month and accepting vehicles and firearms as collateral.

 

The head of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, Worawat Watnakornbancha, instructed Division 5 commander Phumipat Phattharasriwongchai and his team to execute a search warrant issued by the Nakhon Si Thammarat Provincial Court. On August 29, officers raided a residence in Khanom subdistrict and arrested Somporn (alias Jun), a 60-year-old man.

 

During the search, police confiscated a mobile phone, a CZ handgun, 19 rounds of ammunition, a sidecar motorcycle, bank account books, and loan contracts. These items were linked to Somporn’s illegal loan activities, which he operated through a Line account named Somporn.

 

Somporn admitted to running an unlicensed loan business, charging interest rates as high as 20% per month. A typical loan of 10,000 baht (approximately £220) required daily repayments of 500 baht (around £11), combining both interest and principal, until the debt was cleared. This rate far exceeds the legal limit of 15% per year.

Somporn primarily targeted local villagers, advertising his services and communicating with borrowers via the Line app. Borrowers could contact him by adding his phone number on Line. Police monitored his Line account to collect evidence before executing the arrest.

 

Following his arrest, Somporn admitted to operating in the Khanom district for four years alongside his farming job. He confessed to keeping loan documents at his residence, charging illegal interest rates, and deleting some chat records due to heightened police scrutiny.

 

Somporn faces multiple charges, including violating the 2017 Interest Rate Control Act by exceeding the legal interest rate limit, and operating a personal loan business without a licence in breach of the 1972 Revolutionary Council Announcement. Additionally, he was charged with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition under the 1947 Firearms and Ammunition Act.

 

The police have taken Somporn to Kanom Police Station for further legal action. His arrest is part of a broader crackdown on illegal lending practices, aiming to protect vulnerable borrowers from predatory financial activities.

 

-- 2024-09-02

 

 

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Legally 15% per annum

Loan sharks : 20% per month equals 20x12 = 240% per annum

Yeah, not that much more 5555

And what will the outcome be ? 

2000 bht fine and told not do it again 😒