Traffic Officer's Life Ruined by Loan Guarantee for Colleague

A traffic police sergeant at Bang Pli police station in Samut Prakan has revealed how a decision to guarantee a loan for a former classmate and fellow officer has become a turning point that nearly destroyed his life and family. Years ago, Sergeant Somnuek and two other police officers joined a Government Savings Bank welfare programme with a cross-guarantee arrangement, trusting each other as colleagues who had studied and served together. However, when the borrower encountered financial difficulties and stopped making payments, the bank pursued the guarantor for approximately 1.53 million baht in outstanding principal.

"We trusted each other because we were classmates. He guaranteed for me and I guaranteed for him. I never thought he would shirk responsibility. If I could go back, I wouldn't have signed," Somnuek said. After receiving a court summons, he attended multiple mediation sessions at the bankruptcy court and attempted to contact the borrower to take responsibility. Somnuek proposed that other guarantors help share the burden to resolve the issue, but the borrower insisted he could manage the debt alone, ultimately defaulting and leading to Somnuek's bankruptcy decree. He decided not to prolong the process, fearing the problem would spread to another officer who had guaranteed his own loan.

"If I drag this out, the person who guaranteed for me might suffer too. I chose to accept it so this cycle of debt ends and others don't inherit my problem," he explained. The debt crisis has left Somnuek with only 154 baht monthly after his 24,754 baht monthly living allowance is applied toward a 24,600 baht police cooperative debt repayment. His family now depends entirely on his wife Nuu Phak, who sells food to support them, with no income on days she doesn't work, while their child is still in secondary school.

Before the crisis, Somnuek had planned to transfer back to work in Phetchabun province, where he had already built a retirement home and intended to live out his life in his hometown. That dream ended when the bankruptcy suit was filed; relocating would reduce family income from business activities while debt obligations remained. The family now struggles to pay a car instalment in lump sums every two to three months, has cut all expenses, barely uses their vehicle, and eats from the family food shop to save money.

"I never thought that near the end of my service, I'd face this," Somnuek reflected. "No savings left, a salary of 154 baht monthly, my retirement plan gone. But I keep fighting because I still have a family to care for." Though wounded by his trusted friend's betrayal, Somnuek has accepted the consequences of his own decision and shared his cautionary tale as a warning to others considering loan guarantees.