Informal debt – debt owed by individuals to creditors who are not members of financial institutions or state agencies – has long been a major financial problem in Thailand. Living in poverty and working in the informal economic sector without adequate social welfare keeps people besieged within the informal debt cycle endlessly with exorbitantly high interest rates of 5–20% per month.
Maj Gen Chalit Thinthanee, Region 8 Police Deputy Commander, presided over the ceremony with Phuket Vice Governor Supoj Rotreuang Na Nongkhai and local residents at Chaijinda Auditorium of Region 8 Police in Mai Khao.
Maj Gen Chattawat said, “Government policy requires that the informal debt problem, which is a major problem in the country, is resolved as soon as possible. The Royal Thai Police have been tasked with the responsibility to resolve the issue.”
Region 8 Police – the police division overseeing Provincial Police in seven of the 14 Southern Thailand provinces: Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi, Ranong, Chumporn, Surat Thani and Nakhon Sri Thammarat – have returned title deeds to creditors on five previous occasions for a total of value of B285,208,340.
Assets included a total of 871 rai of land, 98 cars and 461 motorcycles transferred back to 396 creditors.
On this occasion, Region 8 Police, led by Commander Lt Gen Pongwut Pongsri, have helped return a total of B33,015,600 worth of title deeds to creditors. This comprised a total of 104 rai of land, three cars and one motorbike returned to 82 creditors.