A Thai woman is pleading with government officials and a news agency to help her find a solution, revealing that she was forced into prostitution, behind her husband’s back, in order to pay 4,200 baht in daily interest on informal loans.
The 49 year old woman contacted Channel 3’s Hone Krasae news programme to seek assistance after struggling to earn enough to cover interest payments to multiple loan sharks. She claimed she had been paying more than ten lenders a total of 4,200 baht daily for over three years.
The woman explained that she once ran her own business, but it collapsed during the pandemic. To cover expenses, she borrowed between 5,000 and 10,000 baht from various loan sharks. Her debt, including interest, has now grown to several hundred thousand baht. Most of the money was spent on daily living costs.
She now works as a masseuse providing traditional Thai massage, but her income is unstable. Some days she earns as little as 100 baht, while still facing the same daily repayments. To manage, she often borrows from new lenders to pay existing interest, sinking deeper into debt.
The woman admitted that she occasionally offers sex services to clients at the massage shop to cover her debt and rent. She said her husband has never known about her sex work.
If she cannot find enough money to pay the loan sharks, she avoids going home and instead hides elsewhere. She added that she often lacks money even for food and has had to beg from monks to survive.
She told reporters she decided to share her story in the hope that the media could coordinate with government officials who might help her. She said she wished to negotiate with her creditors to repay them one by one, as she could not settle the debt in full at once.
Hone Krasae broadcast her story but did not provide further updates on whether any government department would intervene to help her resolve the situation.
The official website of the Bank of Thailand suggests anyone with an informal debt contact Informal Financial Reporting Centre under the Ministry of Finance via a hotline number 1359 for a consultation.
The story Thai woman reveals secret sex work to cover 4,200-baht daily loan interest as seen on Thaiger News.
