Thai woman accuses renowned lawyer of stealing 1.8 million baht

A Thai woman came forward to expose a renowned lawyer who tricked her into signing a power of attorney document, stealing 1.8 million baht from her in the process.

The 47 year old victim, identified only as Ple, sought help from non-profit organisation Saimai Survive to retrieve the 1.8 million baht from the well-known lawyer, whose name was not made public.

In this case, Ple explained that she lent her neighbour 3.6 million baht, and the neighbour signed a contract to repay the debt within two years. However, the debtor only paid her 300,000 baht and begged her to extend the repayment period.

Ple said she agreed to the debtor’s request but still did not receive her money. As a result, she hired a lawyer in September 2015 to sue her neighbour over the debt. In 2017, the Nakhon Pathom Provincial Court ordered the debtor to pay her 3.3 million baht.

Ple then signed a power of attorney document allowing the lawyer to conveniently follow up on the repayment on her behalf. However, the lawyer allegedly used this power illegally for his benefit.

Ple disclosed that she repeatedly asked the lawyer about her money but he told her that the debtor had not yet paid, claiming the debtor was waiting to sell valuables to repay the debt.

Ple eventually sought the truth from the Legal Execution Department and discovered that the debtor already paid more than 1.8 million baht but the money went to the lawyer. Moreover, her lawyer also took a bribe of 50,000 baht from the debtor to manipulate the case in the debtor’s favour.

Saimai Survive added that this was not the first accusation against the lawyer. The organisation revealed a complaint from another victim in October last year, alleging that the lawyer failed to pay home rent for over a year.

The organisation has promised to help Ple seek justice and retrieve her money, but the next steps in their operation were not disclosed in the report.