Creditor cancels THB1.5 debt after woman burns herself alive

[flyingdoc]

Terrible reaction to an unwarranted crisis.

[Estrada]

In Canada they would not forgive her a loan.

But in Canada they do not charge 10% per day!

[razer]

Hpoe this loan shark makes a lot of Meit since making Meit is, without a doubt, a way to remove bad deeds and open the gates of heaven.

[KarenBravo]

In Canada they would not forgive her a loan.

But in Canada they do not charge 10% per day!

10% a month, not per day.

[wvavin]

The losers are always the weak and poor in Thailand. It has not changed for centuries!

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Kind of sends the wrong message

Deep in debt? set yourself on fire

Will others follow?

[JohnThailandJohn]

Is loan sharking even illegal in Thailand? By definition it just means charging extra high (often illegal) interest rates. In the US each state has its own laws regarding interest rates and some states have no limits on interest rates that can be charged and I think pawn shop type loans are exempt to. Blackmail and bodily injury are illegal but the act of loan sharking or lending money at incredible high interest rates to people who cannot get loans otherwise may not even be illegal in Thailand as it isn't in many places, including some US states.

[Tywais]

Is loan sharking even illegal in Thailand?

It is illegal. See my post here - http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/768900-creditor-cancels-thb15-debt-after-woman-burns-herself-alive/#entry8543781

[glcdc]

The title says after she burned her self alive. Is it possible to burn yourself dead??

[JohnThailandJohn]

The title says after she burned her self alive. Is it possible to burn yourself dead??

To date she burned herself herself alive. If she dies she will have burned herself to death.

[sitti]

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Scum probably got back most of the original amount already. How generous to forgive the interest after the poor lady immolated herself. alt=bah.gif>

Scum? If I give you a credit we together grown up sign a contract. Which has a high interest rate because the risk of not getting the money back is high. Later you don't pay your part and I am the scum??????

No one forced her into borrowing the money. And 400.000 are surely not because she was starving and need some pork to eat together with her rice.

If you are a small farmer 400.000 is a lot money.

Yes Scum. There is no risk of not getting the money back as the loan is secured with a deed for the land. The high interest rates should be illegal as it is in civilized countries. You surely do not know why she obtained the loan but you sit in judgment. Yes Scum...that is spelled [enter your name].

No, not really scum. it is one kind of business. Don’t be so naïve, there is always a risk in lending money. Just because having a land for collateral, it doesn’t mean the loan is 100% secured. In order to take the land, you must go through long and costly process. Can takes months to a few years before your case goes to court. Currently court is overwhelmed by so many civil cases. No land owner would just nicely handover the land. Even after you have the land, it is still just a land. You have to find a buyer with the right offer to liquidate it, assuming that land is worth buying. Good luck with that. In reality, no lender would want a piece of land over the interest. That is the whole point of lending money. And don’t forget, why do you think she could not get a loan from any real bank in the first place. Because banks considered her as high risk, not credit worthy, and her land is not worth taking risks. She knew what she was getting into. She agreed and signed a contract. Still she failed to fulfill her obligation.

Yeah yeah, in perfect civilized world, at lot of things should be illegal. Insanely high medical bills that force people to go bankrupt, bailing out Wall Street for their failed money which could have used that money to save people from losing their home, allowing pentagon to spend a trillion dollar on something they knew we don’t need, and this high interest rates……either you can just deal with it or you can’t.

[Billy The Kid]

Hope the lady health will improve , she must have went into an awful time with her debts, worry all the time and many sleepless night , very stressful experience .

[kinmaew]

Thais and their debts I am glad I am not part of that scene and will never be.

[Time Traveller]

The lady obviously has mental health issues. Other people simply go bankrupt when they can't pay debts, it's stupid to think anyone should be responsible to pay off the debts you incurred.

Meanwhile the Government seemed to be scambling to save face, are they worried they are not "returning happiness to the people".

Edited October 17, 2014 by Time Traveller

[Tchooptip]

I was under the impression that money lending is a crime.

Lets see how long the illegal money lender goes to prison for

Thai law states creditors may only ask for a maximum of 15 per cent interest per year, and must register their businesses for tax purposes. Failure to do so may result in jail, a B1,000 fine, or both. - See more at: http://www.thephuketnews.com/swimming-with-sharks-loan-sharks-are-common-and-so-are-their-victims-28354.php#sthash.24ebmWKY.dpuf

Some charge that much or more per month. And more info here - http://www.refworld.org/docid/52ab0f4b4.html

Yes I've seen it on TV last night they said interests were 10% a month...

I did asked my wife two times if I had understood well , yes 10% every month...pure madness!

[billd766]

The lady obviously has mental health issues. Other people simply go bankrupt when they can't pay debts, it's stupid to think anyone should be responsible to pay off the debts you incurred.

Meanwhile the Government seemed to be scambling to save face, are they worried they are not "returning happiness to the people".

It is nothing to do with the government. It wasn't their fault.

If you want a government to blame go back to when the lady first took out her loan and blame that government.

Blame the local government and the police for allowing it to happen.

Everybody wants this government under the general to fix everything instantly without thinking of how many problems there are that need to be solved.

Back in the mid 1990s when I used to drink in the bars of BKK some of the girls would borrow money at 20 baht per 1,000 baht per day. Get your calculators out and work out that interest rate. It was quite common in those days and I have no doubt that it still goes on.

[Time Traveller]

The lady obviously has mental health issues. Other people simply go bankrupt when they can't pay debts, it's stupid to think anyone should be responsible to pay off the debts you incurred.

Meanwhile the Government seemed to be scambling to save face, are they worried they are not "returning happiness to the people".

It is nothing to do with the government. It wasn't their fault.

If you want a government to blame go back to when the lady first took out her loan and blame that government.

Blame the local government and the police for allowing it to happen.

Everybody wants this government under the general to fix everything instantly without thinking of how many problems there are that need to be solved.

Back in the mid 1990s when I used to drink in the bars of BKK some of the girls would borrow money at 20 baht per 1,000 baht per day. Get your calculators out and work out that interest rate. It was quite common in those days and I have no doubt that it still goes on.

Exactly right. It's her own fault. It's not the government's responsibility, so why are they acting like they need to save face? Was the "money lender" a government official?

[JarekN]

In Canada you can very easily declare bankruptcy - especially if it is the first time you got yourself into such hot water... Not that this would work in Thailand as you'd probably end up committing suicide with your hands tied and gunshot to the back of the head...

In Canada they would not forgive her a loan.

[tim armstrong]

I wondered who was paying the hospital too?

[a99az]

Instead of stepping up security in government offices to prevent people killing them selves. Maybe they should spend the money and time shutting down the loan sharks by declaring all loan shark loans void. And arrest anyone who tries to collect loans along with the lenders.

That should put an immediate halt to the practice of loan sharking.

[a99az]

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The lady obviously has mental health issues. Other people simply go bankrupt when they can't pay debts, it's stupid to think anyone should be responsible to pay off the debts you incurred.

Meanwhile the Government seemed to be scambling to save face, are they worried they are not "returning happiness to the people".

It is nothing to do with the government. It wasn't their fault.

If you want a government to blame go back to when the lady first took out her loan and blame that government.

Blame the local government and the police for allowing it to happen.

Everybody wants this government under the general to fix everything instantly without thinking of how many problems there are that need to be solved.

Back in the mid 1990s when I used to drink in the bars of BKK some of the girls would borrow money at 20 baht per 1,000 baht per day. Get your calculators out and work out that interest rate. It was quite common in those days and I have no doubt that it still goes on.

Exactly right. It's her own fault. It's not the government's responsibility, so why are they acting like they need to save face? Was the "money lender" a government official?

Exactly wrong all of you! the loan sharks feed off the poor they are animals. They run loans outside of the law and often charge huge interest rates. So it is very much the responsibility of the government to do something, some of you have clearly been stuck in the 3rd world too long and some of your senses have eroded.

[KarenBravo]

Instead of stepping up security in government offices to prevent people killing them selves. Maybe they should spend the money and time shutting down the loan sharks by declaring all loan shark loans void. And arrest anyone who tries to collect loans along with the lenders.

That should put an immediate halt to the practice of loan sharking.

Yeah.......right, like that would work. If it did, nobody would take drugs, would they? Maybe you should think before you post.

Even if this was implemented, this doesn't address the underlying need. Poor people need loans.

Micro-financing was invented in Bangladesh and has been a huge success. So successful, the idea has been exported all around the world.

That handles the supply end.

Education is needed for the demand side. Rudimentary finance lessons. Teaching in school of basic maths theory like odds (takes care of gambling) and percentages (takes care of borrowing) The practice of living within your means and the habit of saving, regardless of how little.

Edited October 17, 2014 by KarenBravo

[mok199]

im sad and angry.....every forienger that thinks it is only us that thais take advantage of..remember this sad story...

[KarenBravo]

Thais cheat and swindle each other with just as much gusto as they do foreigners.

Just loved the Thai Ruk Thai party as it is so obviously not true. Gave me a good laugh, that did.

[Equalizer]

My wife's aunty lent 400.000 baht to her cousin, very low interest, this was 4 years ago and she has never seen one baht to date.

[sitti]

Thais and their debts I am glad I am not part of that scene and will never be.

I'm very sure a lot of people in your country have debt problems as well.

[wilgoster]

In Canada they would not forgive her a loan.

In USA, that 's on the low side of the average student loan debt. I'm not sure but I think that debt can be assigned to your dependents if you, student-debtor, successfully self-immolate. There's no escaping, not even in bankruptcy. Government and banks saw to to that.

[h90]

Instead of stepping up security in government offices to prevent people killing them selves. Maybe they should spend the money and time shutting down the loan sharks by declaring all loan shark loans void. And arrest anyone who tries to collect loans along with the lenders.

That should put an immediate halt to the practice of loan sharking.

Why do we need a nanny state for everything?

Control when we buy alcohol

Control from who I am allowed to borrow money (only from the rich banksters of course)

Control at what time I must go home

Control what substances are legal

Control this, control that......if the loan shark and woman are over 18, it is not the business of the country what they do with their money.

Against violence (when collecting) there are already laws.

[Wat dee]

I doubt that it was merely the debt that forced such action, but rather threats about what will happen if they don't get their money!

Normally those loans are backed with land etc, well over the actual loan.

[mikiea]

in canada they would of taxed her on the gas she used.