Loan-shark suspects arrested for making threats
Three suspected loan sharks have been arrested in Samut Prakan’s Phra Samut Chedi district for threatening a debtor and vandalising her house, police deputy spokesman Pol Colonel Krissana Pattanacharoen announced on Tuesday.
The three unnamed suspects allegedly threatened and damaged the property of Usa Raksachat, who on August 19 borrowed Bt30,000.
The suspects reportedly were charging Usa a daily interest rate of 2 per cent, amounting to Bt600 a day until she could pay the full amount of Bt30,000. She reportedly fell behind on interest payments for 12 days, resulting in the suspects on October 4 spraying paint on her house and verbally threatening her, Krissana said.
Police arrested the three suspects for conspiring to lend money at interest rates above the legal limit, conspiring to collect a debt with threats of violence or other actions that caused damage to a person or their reputation or property, and damaging property.
Krissana urged people to alert police about lenders charging exorbitant interest rates, as national police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda had prioritised the suppression of loan sharks.