Debt Collectors Assault Woman in Front of Child
Three debt collectors assaulted a 43-year-old woman in Mukdahan province after she could only pay 200 baht of a demanded 400 baht daily loan payment. One man slapped her repeatedly in front of her child before the group fled, boasting they were not afraid of police. The victim has filed a police report and undergone a medical examination.
On November 8, villagers recorded footage of three men entering a 43-year-old woman's home in Ban Kang Luang, Dong Luang district, Mukdahan province, to collect a daily loan debt before physically assaulting her. Reporters visiting the scene found the victim, Nungruthai, who said the incident occurred at 8:30 AM on November 7 while she was feeding her child behind the house. The three men arrived to collect the daily loan payment. She told them she only had 200 baht and asked if she could pay what she had, but one man refused and demanded 400 baht. She handed over the money as demanded before an argument broke out. One of the men then slapped her in the face and repeatedly assaulted her until she fell down. The group then walked out of the house, daring her to file a police report because they 'don't fear the police.' Nungruthai explained the loan originated from a 4,000 baht loan with daily 200 baht payments. After paying for seven days, she could no longer afford the payments and contacted the lender, who proposed a 'rollover' arrangement which she accepted. The victim has since undergone a medical examination at Dong Luang Hospital and filed a formal complaint with investigators at Dong Luang Police Station for legal action.
