Pictures courtesy of SiamRath

 

Residents of a village bank group in Chumphon province have been unable to withdraw their savings, resulting in losses of almost one million baht. Around 50 members reported being denied withdrawals, with the group’s chairman claiming there was no money available due to unpaid loans.

 

The village bank group was established in 2001 under a royal initiative to encourage local savings. Members deposit money regularly for future needs, trusting the scheme’s stability. Problems arose when members began requesting withdrawals earlier this year; the chairman repeatedly cited unpaid loans as the reason for the lack of funds.

 

One member, Ms Nitaya, explained she had been saving since 2006 and now had 57,000 baht in her account. In early 2025, her mother required knee surgery, prompting her to request a withdrawal. The request was repeatedly denied, with the chairman offering only small amounts inconsistently. This situation has left members feeling distressed, particularly those who have saved for years without withdrawals.

 

In May 2025, affected members lodged a formal complaint at Chumphon Police Station, presenting records, bank books, and lists of affected members. Attempts to resolve the dispute through negotiation failed, as the chairman proposed monthly payments of 1,000 baht, an offer members rejected. Police advised both parties to meet at the district office, but no resolution has been reached.

 

Ms Yupin, another member, said she had deposited savings for over ten years, requesting withdrawals only once. When she later sought to withdraw 171,000 baht, she was told again that funds were unavailable. The chairman’s repeated refusal has heightened frustration, with members calling for official intervention.

 

Attempts to contact the chairman for comment on 25 September 2025 failed, as he did not attend a scheduled meeting and was unreachable by phone. Members remained at the bank’s office without receiving an explanation, deepening concerns over transparency and accountability.

 

 

Key Takeaways

 

• Nearly 50 members of a Chumphon village bank group are unable to access almost 1m baht of their savings.

• The chairman cites unpaid loans as the reason for the lack of funds, offering inconsistent partial payments.

• Affected members have filed police complaints and are seeking official intervention to recover their money.

 

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  Adapted by Asean Now from Siamrath 2025-09-28

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sounds to me like the Chairman of the fund has helped himself to the funds by taking out loans for himself and using the villagers money to repay those loans. If the people wanting to make withdrawals didn't have any unpaid loans why didn't they say so when that was used an excuse for there being no funds available.

 

We had a similar situation in our village but with a slight difference. The village fund was provided with THB1,000,000 and villagers could borrow from that fund to do property maintenance etc. many of the villagers repaid the loans BUT the then fund Chairman was not depositing those funds back into the bank village account. He absconded with the funds and now the bank is threatening to repossess property etc of those villagers for the loans to be repaid. The police claim it would be impossible to find him now. I don't agree. Practically everywhere you go (Post Office, Bank etc) the ID card has to be produced and scanned. All they need to do is go to the District Office, with a subpoena if necessary, to obtain the ID card # and then track it. Not hard at all. Cops are just too lazy, and people could lose their homes and/or land because of this laziness and a corrupt fund chairman.

On 9/28/2025 at 3:18 AM, Georgealbert said:

The request was repeatedly denied, with the chairman offering only small amounts inconsistently. This situation has left members feeling distressed, particularly those who have saved for years without withdrawals.

Obviously the scheme was not monitored properly

7 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Obviously the scheme was not monitored properly

 

Why a "scheme"?

 

What's wrong with individual bank accounts?

Again! When will they learn?

5 hours ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

Why a "scheme"?

 

What's wrong with individual bank accounts?

Why not ask them ?

Thailand not called the land of scams for nothing 🤑😱

 

6 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Obviously the scheme was not monitored properly

The chairman was monitoring it exactly......check his bank account.