Lender throws weight around
A Surin granny was stripped of almost all her assets by a gang of loan sharks who came after debts run up by her granddaughter in Krabi.
Subin Butgnam's family has complained to police after three people turned up at her place late last month to demand she honour the 80,000 baht debt run up by Apinya Sangkaewkeaw, 28, who had missed repayments.
Ms Subin, 65, knew nothing about Ms Apinya's debt problems and was shocked when the trio, two women and a man who claimed to be a local policeman, demanded she make repayment on her behalf. Ms Subin was not listed as a guarantor and the trio apparently presented no documents to back their claim that they had any right to be there.
Nonetheless, over the course of three visits they bullied Ms Subin into parting with a gold necklace worth one baht weight, or 30,000 baht; a gold bracelet; a motorcycle owned by her daughter, Boonchit Wangsan, 40; and finally the family's prize cow, which Ms Subin had bought with 20,000 baht in lotto winnings to help pay for Ms Apinya's education.
Ms Subin said she was shocked to get the trio's demands that she repay her granddaughter's debts, which were accompanied by various threats. She told them she had no money to give them so they demanded she part with her belongings instead. On their last visit, the intruders also made her sign a document agreeing to accept responsibility for the debt.
Ms Boonchit, who filed a complaint with Ban Nong Chok police in Sikhoraphum district on her mother's behalf, suspects one of the women in the group was the lender, who had known her daughter Ms Apinya for several years and lent her money on various occasions. She was identified in news reports as Nisarat Raksa, 28.
While Ms Boonchit's daughter is in Krabi, Ms Nisarat is thought to rent a place in Surin's Samrong Thap district. The man who accompanied them is thought to be her elder brother. Since Ms Boonchit went to police and contacted the media about their plight, the dispute has escalated, with Ms Nisarat's side threatening to sue the family for bringing them into disrepute.
Ms Subin, meanwhile, said she didn't know what to do as her husband had died three months before and felt defenceless against their coercive behaviour. Their most recent visit was on Aug 28.
Ms Boonchit, who lives with Ms Subin in Surin and has spoken to her daughter in Krabi about the debt, said Ms Apinya was repaying the loan at the rate of 1,300 baht a day. However, when Covid-19 struck she lost her job and was unable to come up with the money for two days. The lender grew annoyed and visited her mother's place with the other two in tow.
After seeing Ms Subin, the lender's side contacted Ms Apinya again and demanded she increase repayments to the rate of 1,500 baht a day. When she failed to pay they went back to Ms Subin's place and seized the motorcycle and the cow.
Head of Ban Nong Chok police, Pol Col Settakorn Samaijaruwat, said Ms Nisarat had been called in for questioning. Charges have yet to be laid.
Village lads fall out
A young man in Rayong was shot to death in a dispute over a supposed love triangle which did not involve him.
Dee Yodsoi, 20, was killed by a shot to the heart when he accompanied a friend, Krissana Mankong, also 20, to a rendezvous with the shooter on a road leading to the Khao Chuk dam in Klaeng district on Aug 29.
Krissana, who was shot in the leg as the pair made their way out of the dam area, had made time to clear the air with the shooter, Panchapol or Bow, 18 (surname withheld), after Bow accused him of hitting on his girlfriend.
The two lads live in the same village and had been at loggerheads for some time, with Bow having threatened Krissana with a firearm previously, according to Krissana's elder brother.
Dee accompanied Krissana on the back of his motorcycle as his friend. The pair arrived first, but when Bow turned up later in a pickup he refused to get out of the vehicle, which meant their reconciliation talks could not take place.
When the dam area was about to close for the evening, the lads had to leave. As Dee and Krissana were heading back to the road on their motorcycle, Bow drew alongside in his pickup and opened fire.
He shot at the pair four times and fled the scene. Friends took the pair to hospital but Dee died of his injuries.
"No one expected shooting to break out but the lads were wary of Bow because they knew he kept a gun in his vehicle," Krissana's elder brother said later. "Dee ended up the innocent victim."
Dee's mother said she agreed with her son going as Krissana's friend because she thought it might help end the dispute.
She said they were planning to have a meal together when he returned. She was cooking it when Dee's twin brother told her that Dee had been shot.
The family hails from Laos. Dee, who worked at a durian orchard, moved with his family to Thailand when he was a child. Klaeng police arrested Bow the next day at a rubber tapping hut where he had fled. He was found with his 9mm calibre handgun and put up no resistance.
Bow admitted shooting the pair and said it was a spur of the moment decision. Police charged him with intentional killing, attempting to kill and firearms offences.
Monk goes beyond call
A monk in Chon Buri is being hailed for his brave actions after helping stop a bag thief in his tracks.
Phra Whiti To, of Chong Lom temple in Muang district, gave chase on the back of a friend's motorcycle after a man snatched a bag belonging to a temple visitor.
Chollada Leesom, 21, said she had turned up at the temple with her partner and their young child to attend to some business. She said she put her bag down briefly as she returned to their motorcycle. When she turned back, her bag had gone. With it, she lost 4,000 baht in cash, her ID card and her phone.
CCTV cameras showed a man wearing a motorcycle hire vest with the number 1 grabbing her bag and speedily leaving the scene. She complained to Muang district police.
Ms Chollada did not have to wait long to be reunited with her bag, however, as Phra Whiti To was on the job. First, he visited the motorcycle hire queue nearby to ask the guys if they knew the man wearing the No 1 vest. No one did, and they suspect the thief was bogus and wore the vest to confuse onlookers.
Half an hour later, the monk was sitting talking to a friend about the theft when he saw the man in the vest double back on his bike. Phra Whiti To and his mate headed off in pursuit.
They were on Sukprayoon Road, heading towards Phanat Nikhom in Muang district. The pair hemmed in the thief, identified later as Wuttichai Niekasem, 38, forcing his vehicle to the side of the road. He came off his bike and the two held him there until police arrived. "We quizzed him but he made no sense as he was drunk," the monk said.
Police recovered the money and the phone which Mr Wuttichai had stolen from the victim. However, her wallet and ID card were missing. After collaring the thief, police found in his vehicle a bottle of white Thai whisky and newly opened bottle of beer. They charged him with theft.
On social media, Thais heaped praise on the monk for his good deed. Phra Whiti To said he was delighted to help. "News about the monkhood is mainly bad these days. This makes a nice change," he said.
