Rows of fresh durians at fruit stalls are a delectable sight — until the spiky fruits end up in the wrong hands.
On Wednesday (27 Jul), a debt-ridden woman in Thailand was allegedly smacked on the face with a spiky durian peel by a debt collector. According to Thai news site The Thaiger, she had failed to settle her debts.
The victim filed a complaint at the Mueng Lamphun Police Station after the assault.
The Thaiger reported that a woman borrowed around S$760 (20,000 baht) with her friend from a money lender in 2021.
She started to pay back her debt but missed some scheduled payments due to slow business during the pandemic. Eventually, the loanshark sold her arrears to debt collectors who allegedly threatened the woman and her friend and raided their homes.
Source: True ID
To resolve the issue, the debt collector told the women to increase their loan and interest to clear the old debt. Though the terms were unfavourable, the pair accepted them out of fear.
Eventually, their debt ballooned to S$26,602 (700,000 baht). They had to pay S$760 (20,000 baht) daily to satisfy the terms of their agreement.
Source: True ID
The woman’s friend has since gone into hiding, leaving her to deal with the threats on her own.
She sought help from a government office which specialised in debt management. Not long after, the debt collector agreed to pause the repayment, but returned to her house to ask for the money.
On 17 Jul, the woman was parking her motorbike and answering her phone at Chang Rong Temple in Lamphun province when a female debt collector arrived and smacked her in the face with a durian peel, reported NextShark.
The attacker fled the scene immediately, leaving the woman with a bloodied face.
Source: True ID
The woman later filed a complaint at Mueng Lamphun Police Station but allegedly received no updates. She thus asked local media for help.
As of the time of The Thaiger’s report on 27 Jul, the victim is still being threatened.
While the loansharks probably had valid reasons for chasing after the woman, there was no need to resort to such violence.
In light of the attack, we hope the authorities will help the woman seek justice or obtain some form of relief from her repayments.
Other than that, we wish her a smooth recovery from her injuries.
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Featured image adapted from True ID and Rach Teo on Unsplash, for illustration purposes only.
Authorities had to use equipment to pry the vehicle open to free the man.
The authorities have investigated and closed the incident with no follow-ups required, MFA said.
He crossed the border daily in hopes of buying a house for his family.
On a few days, the thundery showers might extend into the night.
His church has urged parishioners to refrain from visiting him as he heals.
The kitten will be put up for adoption after its injuries are cured.