Woman steals monk’s savings to repay debts after being harassed hourly by loan sharks
In a desperate attempt to repay her loan shark debts, a 63-year-old woman in Thailand travelled over 60km on a motorcycle to a temple, where she stole a monk’s life savings.
According to Thai news outlet Channel 7, the woman owed debts to five or six illegal moneylenders and was being hounded with hourly debt collection calls.
Source: Google Maps
Struggling to keep her small business afloat and unable to meet the crippling daily interest, she travelled from Saraburi Province to Wat Sripawang in Ayutthaya Province, where she ended up stealing the cash.
CCTV footage later captured her fleeing on a pink motorcycle after the theft on Tuesday (19 Aug) at around 9am.
Monk finds 28 years of savings missing
The victim, a 72-year-old monk, recounted that the woman entered his living quarters with offerings of two bottles of milk and a box of dim sum.
At that moment, he had just returned from shopping and left his wallet on a chair. Distracting him with conversation, the woman quietly stole 16,900 baht (S$600).
He only became suspicious after spotting some loose cash behind the fridge. Upon checking his wallet, he realised that the savings he had built up over 28 years had vanished.
Alarmed, he phoned his daughter, who brought him to a police station to file a report.
Daughter brings mother to surrender
Local police immediately ordered an investigation. The CCTV footage and the suspect’s motorcycle registration quickly led police to her identity.
Within just 10 hours, at around 7pm that same day, the suspect’s daughter contacted police, saying she would bring her mother in to surrender.
At the station, the suspect fell to the ground, prostrating herself in apology to the monk. They returned the stolen money in full, along with an additional 5,000 baht (S$197) as compensation.
The daughter wept as she said, “I know what my mother did was a sin, but as her daughter, this is the best I can do for her.”
Moved by compassion, the monk forgave them and urged the woman not to bring further misfortune to her child.
Debt collectors pushed her into desperation, says woman
Through tears, the old woman explained her situation, saying she ran a small stall at a local market in Saraburi, but had accumulated debts of 40,000–50,000 baht (S$1,500–S$1,900).
Source: Channel 7
She was expected to pay 1,000–1,500 baht (S$40–S$60) daily, but as sales dropped, she begged lenders to accept 150–200 baht (S$6–S$7).
Despite this, she still needed 800 baht (S$31) daily to pay another debt collector, which she could no longer afford.
She said the collectors harassed her relentlessly, calling every hour, leaving her feeling cornered.
She did not dare to tell her daughter, who had already helped settle part of the debt before.
Woman allegedly intended to borrow, but ended up stealing instead
She explained that she initially hoped to borrow money from an abbot she knew, whom she described as kind and compassionate. However, upon arrival, she learnt that he had passed away.
Seeing another elderly monk, she approached him instead, and upon spotting his wallet, she gave in to temptation and stole it.
She confessed to taking the money, using 10,000 (S$395) to repay collectors and keeping 6,000 (S$236) for herself.
When her daughter confronted her, she broke down and admitted to stealing from the monk.
The woman said she knew her actions were sinful but insisted she had no other choice, as the threats and hourly demands from debt collectors drove her into despair.
Also read: Man in Thailand attempts to steal necklace from auntie, fails & apologises
Man in Thailand attempts to steal necklace from auntie, fails & apologises
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Featured image adapted from Channel 7 and Google Maps.
