Mulberry farming scam to DSI
More than 100 farmers have petitioned the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to probe a case in which they were allegedly lured into investing money in a mulberry farming scam, causing losses exceeding 100 million baht.
Samai Thiwanda, an Ubon Ratchathani farmer who is among the victims, yesterday also lodged a petition to Woranan Srilum, director of the DSI’s Special Case Management Centre, calling on the agency to accept the scam as a special case.
The farmer also asked the department to launch a protection programme for witnesses and victims for their safety.
The farmers who have sought help from the DSI in the case are mostly from the Northeast.
According to the victims, they were conned by Phunumlumchee International (Thailand) Co Ltd into investing in a mulberry cultivation scheme by purchasing shares for 38,000 baht each, in exchange for high returns.
The victims were told they would receive a 12,000-baht dividend each month on the shares they purchased.
They were also told that if they managed to persuade other farmers to invest, they would receive 10% of that money.
Mr Samai yesterday said he was conned into buying shares from the alleged scheme in July last year. The firm gave them mulberry sprouts, promising to purchase their yields after one year.
He also signed a contract detailing price deals with the company and bought shares costing 250,000 baht.
Mr Samai said he had persuaded other farmers to take part in the scam in June last year. However, he decided to seek help from the DSI when he was unable to contact the company after they failed to pay him since October.
Meanwhile, Pol Maj Woranan yesterday said he forwarded the issue to the DSI’s Bureau of Special Crime 1 to consider whether the case met the department’s criteria for special cases.
An initial investigation found about 1,800 Thai and 40 other Lao nationals were conned by the firm, resulting in about 122 million baht in damage, according to officials. The company, however, is still operational.