Thai widow pleads for help as loan sharks tighten grip after husband’s suicide

The recent suicide of a 60 year old woman’s husband due to mounting debt led her to plead for assistance to deal with aggressive loan sharks. The woman, known as Yay Yuphin, from Uthai Thani province, sought help from Ekaphop Luangprasert and his team from the Saimai Must Survive news page, following her husband’s death.

The man had committed suicide to give his wife his funeral money to cover some of the family’s informal loans, which required daily interest payments of 3,000 baht.

Yuphin and her husband, who sold shallots and garlic for a living, had been supporting themselves and their two granddaughters, aged 17 and five. Before the Covid crisis, Yay managed to make ends meet through her trade but the pandemic had left her business in ruins.

This forced her to resort to both formal and informal loans to keep her business afloat, which ultimately led her into a vicious cycle of debt.

On November 23, one of the loan sharks, named Sud Lor, called her husband demanding payment using harsh and aggressive language. Despite having only 103 baht to his name, the husband was forced to transfer 100 baht to the loan shark, leaving him with only 3 baht.

The couple had discussed their bleak financial situation that evening, with the loan shark threatening to cause harm if they failed to pay their debt the next day.

Funeral insurance policy

Following her husband’s death, Yay received approximately 160,000 baht from his funeral insurance policy. However, a sum of 100,000 baht was deducted by the Government Savings Bank, leaving her with just 60,000 baht.

The cost of arranging her husband’s funeral was around 80,000 baht, but the local community managed to raise 40,000 baht to help cover the cost. Yay was left penniless and in debt, despite not knowing the exact amount she owed.

Yuphin’s friends, Yai Ting and Pa Toi detailed how they had seen loan sharks demanding payment from Yay sometimes using threats and abusive language. They revealed that, out of desperation and despair, Yay had considered suicide as a way to end her debt problems. However, her concern for her two granddaughters stopped her from taking her own life.

Yuphin’s debt consisted of a 400,000 baht loan from the Government Savings Bank for home improvements and a 160,000 baht loan for a pickup truck. The most pressing issue, however, was her informal debt, which comprised seven loan sharks, two of whom had been paid off. Each day, she was required to pay around 3,000 baht in interest alone.

Ekaphop vowed to accompany her to meet Police Lieutenant Colonel Suttipong Pek Thong, the Uthai Thani provincial police commander, to discuss possible solutions to her debt problems, reported Sanook.

If you or anyone you know is in emotional distress, please contact the Samaritans of Thailand 24-hour hotline: 02 713 6791 (English), 02 713 6793 (Thai), or the Thai Mental Health Hotline at 1323 (Thai). Please also contact your friends or relatives at this time if you have feelings of loneliness, stress, or depression. Seek help.