By Thai Newsroom Reporters
PEOPLE WHO MAY OWE illicit debt but hesitantly have not made official claims were today (Jan.7) reminded of the deadline which has been rescheduled for the end of next month.
The Ministry of Interior’s undersecretary Sutthipong Chulcharoen said those who may be indebted to loan sharks but kept quiet or are reluctant to report it are strongly advised to notify the authorities of such financial burdens until Feb.29 so they could be salvaged from it once and for all.
The deadline for illicit debt claims under the Pheu Thai-led government’s anti-loan sharks campaign has been extended from the originally scheduled Jan.15.
Though a total of 119,178 people have so far notified government officials in all districts throughout the country of their being indebted to loan sharks, many more are believed to prefer to keep it a secret from the authorities, probably for fear of personal safety or reputation which might possibly be at risk or any other reasons, according to the undersecretary.
That total of people, most of whom have made claims of their debt online via the Department of Provincial Administration’s website, reportedly owe a combined 7.77 billion baht in debt to 88,281 illegal money lenders nationwide, Sutthipong said.
Of that total, 1,701 indebted people already have reached compromise agreements with their loan sharks, helped by district or provincial officials acting as mediators, to settle a combined sum of 288 million baht in illicit debt, he said.
That was part of a total of 6,648 indebted people who have so far engaged in negotiations with their money lenders, most of which have not been successful as yet, according to the undersecretary.
Under the government’s anti-loan sharks campaign, which started from early last month, the indebted people are bound to settle their illicit debt on instalment basis with a substantial cut in interest and an extended term of repayment whilst those who may have already fully repaid the principal of their debt do not need to pay anymore.
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Top and Front Page: Representative images of debtors calculating how much money they owe. Both photos: Thai Rath
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