I know any army sergeant that controls the pay of many subservient soldiers, maimly newer, soldiers. He even showed me a spreadsheet he uses to keep track.

He charges 10% per month, and says that most of ghese young guys turn up penniless, he fronts them money till they get paid.

Says he ain't thick, he doesn't front them the entire paycheck - only enough to keep them going. So lets say that's 2000 baht - he's lifting 200 baht per soldier per month.

Said he started retaining the wages as some guys were borrowing from multiple sources leading to serious problems on camp. I'd say he's a loan dogfish rather than a loan shark.

In Glasgow we have stacks of high end loan sharks. I've watched a transaction of £30000 take plus in front of my nose + 20% per month. One guy I know went in for £250000. This is major criminal activity. The guy at £250k is a notorious drug runner who has served a ten year sentence already. The other guy was buying containers of duty free wine at £6 a case ex-London. This guy is also notorious for burning money. Come the last day he was £12000 short of the £36k due. Panic stations, my associates bailed him. We reckoned that he had earned £55K from the containers and wondered where the money had gone

"Paid private school fees, cleared mortgage arrears, booked and paid holiday."

He went back in on month two and borrowed £45K this time. To repay my associates, fund the next containers, and "to have a few quid for the weekend."

I barred him from the premises. ( long story, bottom line is I controlled the premises ).

Known associate is the term - the last thing you need is being known as this guys "pal." It's regular for threats to be delivered through "pals," and it always angers me. The one and only time it happened it became a calamity for the messenger.

What's the point of that story? Loan sharking is rarely between the two parties. When things go wrong innocents get dragged in. Like the husband of the woman who was attacked with acid in CM.

Like the girl I know who had to take on a third job to pay her mothers debt. She worked herself to exhaustion and ended up in hospital - another debt.

This story has a happy ending. An aunt found out the whole story as she wondered why the niece was in hospital and the mother had fled to the temple. The aunt, genuinely wealthy, cleared the debt and took the mother under her wing. She was distressed that so much trouble had come about dur to what to her was a trifling amount. It was all FACE, you see.

But that's not the extraordinary part of the story......To be continued........