A woman sustained injuries in her face after a debt collector hit her with a durian in the northern province of Lamphun.
Identified as Duangduen, the attacked woman said she parked her motorcycle in front of Chang Rong Temple in Nai Meung sub-district. She was about to answer a phone call when another woman with what appeared to be a durian came up and slapped her across the face with the fruit’s spiky shell.
The incident occurred on July 17, and the assailant turned out to be Ms. Duangduen’s debt collector. The attacker reportedly fled the scene in a van after assaulting her and leaving her with a bloody face.
Ms. Duangduen reportedly filed a complaint at the Mueng Lamphun Police Station after the incident. However, she claimed that authorities did not pay attention to her case. Therefore, she decided to ask local media for help.
The woman admitted that she had borrowed around 20,000 baht from a person late last year to start a business with her friend but was unable to pay the debt due to financial issues. Consequently, the interest repayment increased by 700,000 baht.
Ms. Duangduen states that she was unable to repay the money she borrowed because the Covid-19 pandemic also affected her store’s income.
The lender sold the arrears to debt collectors. They allegedly threatened Ms. Duangduen and her business partner and even raided their homes.
Ms. Duangduen said that the debt collectors misled her and her friend by saying that borrowing more money would help them pay off the interest on their debt. However, under the new terms, the debt increased to a repayment demand of 20,000 baht per day.
Her friend and business partner reportedly fled in fear of debt collectors’ actions. Ms. Duangduen had to bear the consequences and has contacted an official government department dealing with debt management to find help.
Ms. Duangduen said the lender had agreed to pause the repayment but showed up at her house to demand the money. The debt collector has also continued to threaten her, she added.
