Fraud accused faces bankruptcy action
The Crime Suppression Police's initial investigation found that the Phuket landlord accused of chopping off his thumb to collect Bt16 million in insurance is being sued for bankruptcy over a Bt1.68-million debt, a source said yesterday.
The probe into 38-year-old Pichet Porntantipong's background showed that Siam Commercial Bank sued him on December 21, 2006, for bankruptcy because he owed the bank Bt1.68 million, the source said. The case is due for trial on July 3. Colonel Sompong Chingdoung said police had contacted related parties to get the evidence - including the missing thumb and the cleaver knife - for examination. Five more insurance firms - Thai Life Insurance, MSIG Insurance (Thailand), Chao Phraya Insurance, Krungthai Panich Insurance and AXA Insurance - yesterday filed complaints and gave information to police. Weeranant na Nakhon, of Thai Life Insurance, said Pichet had bought an accident insurance policy with a premium of Bt3,600 a year. On October 26 last year, he submitted a medical certificate and receipts to collect daily compensation of Bt2,000 a day for seven days. Panas Sukcharoen, of MSIG Insurance, said Pichet had bought two accident policies worth Bt5 million and claimed compensation worth Bt750,000 for his lost thumb. Since he was now under investigation, the company had suspended the payment, he added. An informed source reported that Pichet had bought 38 accident policies in 2005 and 2006 (one in December 2005, nine in February 2006, 11 in March, 10 in May, two in June, one in July, one in August, two in September and one in October). Meanwhile, Pichet said that the firms had the "right to have doubts" but insisted he had bought the insurance policies with honest intentions. He said police should not have come forward with information about financial matters for the public because the case had not yet been proved and this could be regarded as persuading the public he was guilty. The case came to public attention after Siam Commercial Samakki Insurance on Monday lodged a formal request for police to probe an accident claim filed by Pichet last October that he accidentally chopped off his left thumb while cooking. The firm - which sold Pichet four policies worth Bt5 million in insurance - had doubts because he had taken out many policies worth over Bt60 million in total in less than a year from dozens of companies.
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