Saving money for a dry day Smart financial planning will prepare you for when the floodwaters finally vanish

A well-designed financial plan is essential for flood victims to manage their money and get back to a normal life after the waters recede.

Ever since the massive deluge occurred in the North in August before spreading to the central basin and then Bangkok in mid-October, flood-hit people have been spending extra money to evacuate their homes and find temporary shelter.

After the floods subside, they will probably spend more on home and furniture repair and improvement, as well as car maintenance.

Many of them want loans to pay for these unexpected expenses, and good financial management is crucial.

Araya, 35, who works at an IT firm in Silom, wants to get some loans with low interest rates to repair her flooded house in Bang Khen.

"I don't know how much the house repair will cost exactly," she said. "But it will be a lot to fix a house that has been submerged under waist-deep water for several weeks. Moreover, I will have to pay a school fee for my son next month as well."

Her savings alone are not enough, as she has spent a great deal during the flood period. And she still can't go back to her house.

To ease financial worries, Kasikornbank has the K-WePlan, a personal financial service to assist flood victims in carefully planning spending post-flooding. The plan outlines spending as follows:

- Expenses such as transport of belongings and medical care. Flood victims are at risk of flood-related illnesses, including ringworm, leptospirosis, conjunctivitis and dengue fever.

- Expenses for transport, medicine and public utilities.

- Expenses for home cleanup and rehabilitation that may include landfilling to prevent future house floods.

- Expenses for purchasing new furniture and electrical goods if they are damaged: water pump, refrigerator, washing machine, air conditioner, etc; buying new appliances is better than repairing them if the cost is not so different.

- Expenses for auto maintenance to check whether floodwaters damaged car engines and other parts.

A staffer at KBank explained that spending priorities are different based on the demands of each person. If they are short on cash, they might look to borrow from banks.

K-WePlan suggests four financial sources for flood victims:

- Company welfare, which will offer loans at special interest rates and a grace period on interest payment for employees.

- A soft loan programme by the Social Security Office offering loans for house rehabilitation of up to 50,000 baht at 2.50% interest for the first two years and a maximum repayment period of 24 months. The scheme will be available from Dec 7 to April 30.

- A credit line from a life insurance policy. A policyholder can apply for a loan of up to 80% of policy sum assured at an interest rate two percentage points higher than the dividend yield fixed in the insurance policy. For instance, if the dividend yield is quoted at 4%, the loan rate is 6%.

- Bank loans of various types, including personal loans, cash-for-car, credit card or home loans. Banks are offering several housing loan packages for rehabilitation to help flood-hit customers. 

Low and zero interest rates will be charged. However, the special rates are generally available to existing customers only.

- Bank offers zero interest on home loans under the rehabilitative programme for the first six months, and the bank offers credit lines equal to paid-up debts.

Chatchai Payuhanaveechai, the secretary-general of the Housing Finance Association and also a KBank executive vice-president, says demand for mortgage loans for rehabilitation is still low but will rise after the floodwaters subside.

"Clients who will apply for this kind of loan want to obtain loans valued around 20-30% of their losses," he said.

Siam Commercial Bank also offers zero-rate housing loans for the first three months, with credit lines of up to 120% of existing appraisal price.

CIMB Thai Bank will reduce the interest rate of an existing mortgage loan under its rehabilitation scheme.

Besides rehabilitation loan programmes, many banks also are offering special consumer loan packages to clients. 

Such packages include extension of loan duration, a grace period for principal and interest payment, interest rate reductions and additional credit lines.

Ego keeps people wet

Having listened to many of the reports about the flooding in Don Muang and Pathumthani, not to mention witnessing it in both areas, I have come to the conclusion that this government is placing its ego above and beyond that of the welfare of the people from the aforementioned districts.

They have shown that they have no interest in the plight of these people, who when all is said and done are human beings who deserve to be considered in the same light as the residents of inner Bangkok.

The government has ignored the advice of experts, who have stated on more than one occasion that the ''big bag dam'' should be removed and that the water should be allowed to flow freely to the sea. If this had been done a week ago, then it is highly probable that these two districts would have seen the water recede to a level where it would now be possible for the residents of these areas to move back to their homes and begin the mammoth task of cleaning up.

Even the most revered man in the kingdom said that the water should be allowed to take its own course, he did not mean that the water should be held back in two monkey cheeks whereby it would cause distress, hardship and suffering to his people.

Did the government listen? No, it totally ignored the best and most expert advice they could have been given. Such is the arrogance and complacency of this so called administration.

The Flood Relief Operation Command does nothing but lie and give out false information, they claim that pumps are in use when in fact the pumps they refer to are not being used at all.

They claim that some roads are dry and can be travelled along by car, when in fact only a short stretch of the road is passable and the remainder of the road is impassable.

I have heard many Thais say that they are ashamed to be Thai because of the selfish attitude of the residents in inner Bangkok who don't care about those who are being sacrificed just so that they (the inner Bangkok residents) can walk along dry streets and go shopping, go to work, eat in the restaurants, etc, etc, without fear of getting their feet wet.

Let the ministers responsible for this catastrophe come and see for themselves the results of their actions, then ask them if they will put their hands into their deep pockets and start paying for the damage they have caused, Their answer would be an emphatic, no.

How the prime minister has the nerve to show her face and stand among other world leaders, who genuinely are trying to do their best for their respective countries and their people, while she is doing all in her power to destroy Thailand, I just don't know.

BRIAN CREASE

Bangkok

PM's seal of approval

It is interesting to see that President Obama has given Yingluck his ''seal of approval'' with an invitation to visit the White House, an invitation that was never extended to the former, military-backed government of Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Following on from the US State Department's statement that they considered it in America's best interest for ''this government to suceed'', this latest show of support will hopefully make the Thai Army shelve any plans that it may have had to launch a coup, knowing that a new coup would only infuriate big brother.

DOM DUNN

Krabi

Chalerm threat to govt

Since Thaksin claims to have control of the Yingluck government, it is utterly clumsy of him to have faith in Chalerm Yubamrung.

In 1991, a coup was successfully staged against the Chatichai Choonhavan government. Chalerm _ who served as Minister for the Office of the Prime Minister at that time and was incessantly provoking the military _ was cited by the coup leaders as a main reason for that coup. Chatichai's dream of staying a full term in office was thus put to an end. Chatichai was one of the most popular prime ministers in Thailand's recent history.

Chalerm's most recent action in the Yingluck government seems to have stirred up a hornet's nest. Bloodletting is very possible and another coup is not out of the question.

That would be the end of reconciliation for Thailand and statesmanship for Thaksin if he doesn't stop this foolishness.

VINT CHAVALA

Lamphun

Stupid is as stupid does

Thailand is planning to build a second tobacco factory, (Bangkok Post, Nov 18) while it actively discourages tobacco consumption with laws admonishing against its use. The government also operates a lottery while it criminalises gambling amoung private citizens. Many countries indulge in these hypocrisies. Can someone explain to a child why a government is allowed to profit from the misery of others while it punishes individuals for the same action?

Can someone explain it to me?

VINCENT GILLES

Tear down big bag wall

I guess that I must be one of those lucky ones living in the inner city of Bangkok who didn't get my feet wet in the current flood crisis and the PM takes full credit for my feet being dry.

Yes, while this must be true, thousands of people are suffering behind the ''big bag'' dam that was erected to keep my feet dry.

The humiliation and suffering being brought onto these trapped people by the dam is unimaginable.

To think that these people are living in contaminated, putrid, stinking water that is up to 2 1/2 metres deep in their houses is unconscionable.

These people are living inhumanly and all brought on by the PM's desire to keep the rich and elite people in inner city Bangkok from getting their feet wet.

Personally, I don't mind if my feet get wet and that there is flooding if it would mean that it would ease the suffering taking place on the other side of the wall. 

Reportedly, Thai water management experts, as well as foreign water management experts, have recently said that if Bangkok is to dry out soon the dam must be taken down now.

Therefore, and paraphrasing the words of a former US President, most of my neighbuors and I cry out ''Madam PM, tear down that wall!'' and let the poor, trapped people of Thailand dry out and stop their suffering immediately!

BANGKOK CRAWDAD

Govt helps deluged areas get back on track

As floods recede in Bangkok and neighbouring areas, the government is focusing on repairing roads and pumping water out of communities, the Flood Relief Operation Command says.

Froc spokesman Gen Palangkun Klaharn said yesterday staff would speed up road repairs and restoration to allow flood evacuees to return to their properties and enable the delivery of aid.

Capt Somsak Khaosuwan, director of the National Disaster Warning Centre, said repairs to the Rangsit-Nakhon Nayok road would be completed in three days. Staff were using pumps to drain floodwater from the road.

Capt Somsak said sandbag dykes had to remain at their locations to direct floodwater to pump stations and canals.

He asked people in flooded areas above sandbag dykes not to destroy the floodwalls.

The government would take good care of them.

The government has opened kitchens to cater for people in flooded communities. It is also building elevated walkways to serve commuters in flooded areas and is providing housing estates with pumps to speed up drainage.

The Froc is also telling flood victims about their rights to compensation and how to clean their houses.

Pol Gen Pongsapat Pongcharoen, deputy police chief and another Froc spokesman, said the government was offering compensation to people in flooded areas north of sandbag lines.

He thanked the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration for opening some sluice gates to relieve flooding in Pathum Thani province.

More pumps would be installed to speed up drainage.

SME supply chains and Post-Flood recovery

When we have natural disasters such as the floods in Thailand that have been the worst in 69 years, the key to turning crisis into opportunity is the effectiveness of a company's logistics and supply chain management.

We saw examples of this in the retail sector, as big chains such as Big C, Tesco Lotus and 7-Eleven ran out of essential stock after the floods in Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani inundated factories and warehouses. 

This led to loss of stock, then panic buying, and for a few days many shelves lay empty.

The retailers have largely recovered since then, with most items back in stock after they quickly opened up new supply chains, including imports of water, noodles, canned fish, eggs and UHT milk from Malaysia. 

They also set up new warehouses and distribution centres that helped them to restock their shelves.

For manufacturers, unfortunately, it was not so easy to mend their broken supply chains. Many of the flooded factories were producers of electronic, automobile, computer and optics parts that were essential to the global supply chain. 

Manufacturers around the world were therefore forced to cut production, as were factories in unaffected parts of Thailand such as Rayong.

This disruption of supplies has led to much discussion about the current trend for supply chains to be both thin (with only small stockpiles) and global which means they are always vulnerable to natural disasters somewhere, such as occurred in Thailand and Japan this year.

Despite the disruption to supply chains and the losses suffered as a consequence, I see no likelihood of this model changing, as this is an efficient way to organise business. 

Manufacturers today don't like to hold large supplies of stock because the rapid pace of technological change means that parts will quickly become outdated. 

They also like to take advantage of the specialised, skillful and relatively cheap labour force in places such as Thailand, where they can also be close to major markets.

Major manufacturers have already given assurances that they don't wish to leave Thailand. As the automobile industry expert Michael Dunne explained to the Wall Street Journal, companies will want to stay in Thailand because of the "world-class work" that Thailand produces.

"The (Thai) workforce is skilled and still relatively cheap and it has close proximity to a Southeast Asian market hungry for cars," he said.

There is no question, then, that Thai industry will survive. But what does it need to do to thrive _ and be prepared for similar disasters in the future?

One lesson is the importance of not just having a business continuity plan but also conducting regular risk assessments that cover all possible scenarios from market risk to operational risk to economic risk. 

Producers should also consider how they can limit their exposure to a single geographic location. Additionally, the coming rebuilding effort will present an opportunity to review manufacturing processes, so as to maximise flexibility, speed of adaptation and resilience in the future.

Most of the damaged suppliers are specialised and highly skilled medium-sized businesses that have become an indispensable part of the global economy. 

This means the large international companies that rely on them will give them the support they need to recover quickly.

This disaster has demonstrated how successful Thailand producers have been in filling key global supply chain niches so I am confident that they will have the skill and imagination to turn this crisis into an opportunity.

Analysts dust off political risk scenarios

Analysts are weighing the possibility of re-emerging political strife arising from a contentious draft of a royal pardon decree, as well as the unresolved flood crisis, for their impact on markets.

Apart from external risks, chiefly euro zone debt, more domestic risk factors could drag down Thailand's economy throughout 2012, said KGI Securities research.

The cabinet last week quietly approved a draft decree for a royal pardon that could include Thaksin Shinawatra.

The decree would seek pardons for more than 20,000 convicts on the occasion of His Majesty the King's birthday next month. 

However, it was worded in a way that would include people convicted of corruption, notably the self-exiled former prime minister.

Protests against the plan have already begun, and if the political movement against the government headed by Thaksin's sister escalates, unrest and even riots are seen as possible in the near term.

According to KGI, some analysts believe there is an implied plan for Prime Minister Yingluck to step down after June 2012 to open the door for her brother to return as PM. 

This would be followed by a cabinet reshuffle to bring back key figures among the 111 Thaksin-linked politicians whose five-year ban will expire in May.

The heightened political tension comes at a time when the country is just beginning the long process of recovering from the worst floods since 1942, said the brokerage.

Meanwhile, there is no guarantee that severe flooding won't be seen again in 2012. Water levels in major dams in northern Thailand remain at full capacity and floodwater in central Thailand is only now starting to recede.

Flooding could also push inflation, notably in essential goods and services, above 4% during the first quarter of 2012.

However, KGI believes the Bank of Thailand will reduce its policy interest rate to encourage a recovery, with a rate of 2.25% or 2.5% by the end of 2012, compared with 3.5% now. 

It also believes inflation could ease to 2% by year-end, though this would partly reflect the high base at the end of 2011.

Government abandons draft pardon Thaksin says furore damaged unity efforts

The government has withdrawn its plan to seek a royal pardon for its de facto leader and fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra following strong opposition.

Justice Minister Pracha Promnok said Sunday the draft royal decree for royal pardons for convicts on the occasion of His Majesty the King's 84th birthday anniversary on Dec 5 this year would have conventional conditions.

They include bans on convicts found guilty of drugs offences and corruption and convicts who absconded.

Pol Gen Pracha said the draft royal decree would not favour any individual in particular and would not run counter to the Criminal Procedure Code.

The government will have the Council of State scrutinise the draft before seeking approval from His Majesty the King.

Pol Gen Pracha, who is responsible for proposing royal pardons for convicts, was speaking Sunday only hours after Thaksin released a letter saying he has no wish to accept preferential treatment in the royal pardon.

Pol Gen Pracha, however, denied any connection between Thaksin's statement and his, insisting his announcement was only in response to widespread criticism on the draft royal decree. Thaksin's handwritten statement was distributed to the press through the ruling Pheu Thai Party.

Thaksin said he wrote the letter in Dubai and that he did not want any benefit from the upcoming royal decree for royal pardons next month.

He said the nation was suffering from a flooding crisis and needed unity, so he did not want to see any moves that would hinder national unity.

"I am willing to support all measures that lead to national reconciliation.

"I am ready to sacrifice my own happiness even though I have not received justice for over five years. For the people, I will be patient," he said.

In response to recent criticisms of the draft royal decree, Thaksin said he did not believe the government would take any action that would benefit him alone.

He also wrote that as His Majesty the King was ill, and nobody should do anything that would worry the King and he believed that the prime minister shared his stance.

Thaksin was referring to Yingluck Shinawatra who is his younger sister.

In his letter, Thaksin also said those who supported him should not be disappointed. He called on all parties to "forgive and forget".

According to a source at the Pheu Thai Party, Thaksin ordered the party to cancel its plan to seek royal pardons which did not include the ban on drug and corruption convicts, which would make him eligible for a pardon.

The cabinet approved the draft royal decree allegedly without the bans last Tuesday.

The report drew considerable opposition from many parties, who now claim Thaksin wrote the letter to contain political damage to the government.

They say he wrote the letter to signal the government's withdrawal of the pardon plan and ordered Pol Gen Pracha to tell the press Sunday that the government would not help him with the draft royal decree.

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), on hearing Pol Gen Pracha's statement and Thaksin's letter Sunday, announced that it would cancel its demonstration at the Council of State on Monday.

Spokesman Parnthep Pourpongpan said there was no reason for the demonstration now that the government would not issue a royal decree that would benefit Thaksin.

Thaksin has been prosecuted in many cases of corruption since his government was toppled in a coup d'etat on Sept 19, 2006.

In 2008, the Supreme Court sentenced him to two years in jail for abusing his authority as the prime minister to help along his ex-wife's purchase of a state-owned land plot in inner Bangkok in 2003.

He fled the country shortly before the verdict was announced.

Hundreds demand sluice gates to be opened

Flood-hit residents in Bangkok's Don Muang and Nonthaburi rallied yesterday, demanding the government speed up the drainage of floodwater from their communities.

Still soaked 

Flood levels remain high in many communities in Don Muang district after several weeks of flooding, prompting residents to demand better flood drainage. Flood victims yesterday threatened a protest if the waters do not recede significantly in three days.

Over 200 people from Sai Noi, Bang Kruai and Bang Bua Thong districts of Nonthaburi partially blocked the inbound section of Rattanathibet Road in front of the provincial hall.

They demanded the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) open all sluice gates of Khlong Maha Sawat, Khlong Thawi Watthana, Khlong Phasicharoen, Khlong Bang-or and Khlong Bang Bamru to allow floodwater from the districts to flow downstream.

The canals connect Nonthaburi with Bangkok's western districts, such as Thawi Watthana, Taling Chan, and Bang Kae.

The residents threatened to destroy the dykes that are blocking floodwater from flowing out of their areas if their demands were not met.

They also demanded the repair of dykes in Bang Bua Thong district to block the inflow of floodwater and the installation of pumps to discharge floodwater from the districts of Nonthaburi.

Special compensation should be given to residents in the three districts, where floods have remained so central Bangkok could be spared, they said.

The residents pointed out that while they were still waiting for progress in flood drainage, adjacent Bang Phlat district of Bangkok is dry and has been cleaned up.

The residents ended the protest after reading out their petitions and said they would listen to responses from agencies tomorrow.

Nonthaburi MP Chalong Riawraeng said the BMA had closed sluice gates in Khlong Maha Sawat after opening them briefly to meet the request of the Nonthaburi people. He urged residents to exert pressure.

Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra, however, said yesterday morning the sluice gates of Khlong Maha Sawat canal were opened 50cm wide, as agreed with Nonthaburi residents.

The Irrigation Department will start pumps to accelerate drainage through Khlong Maha Sawat and Khlong Bangkok Noi canals as well as the Chao Phraya River.

The Thawi Watthana sluice gate would be opened wider to speed up drainage through Khlong Phasicharoen canal and the Tha Chin River.

However, he said he was not willing to lower a 6km-long section of a dyke that protects western Bangkok, as lowering it would significantly increase the inflows of floodwater into western parts of the capital.

Meanwhile, about 200 people from Don Muang and Laksi districts of Bangkok and Muang Ake housing estate of Pathum Thani gathered yesterday to demand the opening of Khlong Bang Khen sluice gate at Wat Thewa Sunthorn in Bang Khen district to drain floodwater from the areas.

They demanded the government install at least 30 pumps to drain the water and look into the negative impact of the opening of the big bag barrier in Rangsit area which could add more water to Don Muang.

Protest leader Pongthep Sirisap said they would submit their demands to the government at the Flood Relief Operation Command today, while some residents threatened to close the Din Daeng-Don Muang tollway if their demands were not met.

MR Sukhumbhand inspected floods in Sai Mai district of Bangkok yesterday.

He also delivered relief bags to flood victims in adjacent Lam Luk Ka district of Pathum Thani and thanked them for helping contain flooding in Bangkok.

MR Sukhumbhand said flooding in the capital would be relieved on main streets in a few weeks and the drainage on minor roads would take twice as long.

He insisted Bangkok would be dry by the end of the year.

Lack of rehab plan frustrates industry

The aviation industry is urging transport authorities to include all stakeholders in a concerted effort to help make the inundated Don Mueang airport better than before.

Some industry players operating out of the old airport are frustrated by officials' lack of preparation for rehabilitation and their slowness to include them in planning for the revival, conservatively estimated to cost one billion baht.

"It's imperative for both the government and the private sector to work together to come up with a comprehensive, well-coordinated action plan and execute it effectively," said Jaiyavat Navaraj, the executive chairman of MJets, the private jet operator at Don Mueang.

Transport officials, particularly those with Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT), should start consulting the private sector now, as the floodwater has begun to recede, he told the Bangkok Post.

Operators at Don Mueang _ Thai Airways International, Nok Air, Orient Thai Airlines and MJets _ need to know what authorities have in store for the restoration so they can align their own rehabilitation plans with those of the government.

Private operators at Don Mueang need to carry out several activities such as damage assessment, insurance coordination and repairs or replacement of damaged facilities, said Mr Jaiyavat.

So far, the only information about Don Mueang's restoration plan made public is that AoT has sought 489 million baht in state funding to fix the runway and taxiway on the east side. 

It will also use 445 million baht of its own money to repair runways and taxiways on the west side. As well, the US government will help out, although no details have been forthcoming.

AoT executives have suggested the airport could partially reopen two months after rehabilitation work starts, but only after the floodwater, still more than 80 centimetres deep, has subsided.

However, the latest Civil Aviation Department notice issued to international aviation businesses stated that Don Mueang would not be serviceable until Feb 5.

AoT executives have privately told Don Mueang operators that restoration cannot be planned until the true extent of flood damage can be gauged and AoT has urged them to be patient.

Mr Jaiyavat suggested AoT seize the opportunity arising from the restoration to beautify Don Mueang. For instance, derelict buildings such as Bangkok Airways' catering facility, could be demolished and the landscaping rethought.

"The successful execution of Don Mueang's restoration would go a long way to projecting an image that Thailand is back on its feet from the disastrous flooding," he said.

He also urged AoT to give financial assistance to the operators at Don Mueang, such as reduced aircraft landing and parking fees to help them through the difficult recovery period.

Con men target disaster victims Reaping benefit from other people's misery shows an ugly side to the disaster

Flood victim Uthai Phuwanan says she lost all her savings after falling foul of unscrupulous phone scammers claiming to be offering relief aid from the Interior Ministry.

The con men contacted her by phone, saying they were conducting a flood damage survey.

Ms Uthai, 55, whose assets and house in Bang Kae were damaged by the flood, was fooled into transferring money to the scammers via an ATM.

Police said the phone scam gang is exploiting the flood situation and benefiting from the state offer of compensation for flood victims.

Ms Uthai and other flood victims put their trust in the gang's words because their trick came at a time when the government was offering financial help.

"In fact, it is an old trick of the gang," said Bang Bon police officer Thiraphong Naksuk, who is looking into Ms Uthai's case, referring to their strategy of exploiting times of crisis.

"This time the gang fooled its targets with new words made suitable to the situation."

Ms Uthai, a teacher, fell victim to the gang while she and her family were taking refuge at the school where she works in Thon Buri.

As someone needing help from the government, Ms Uthai had no doubt she was talking with an official from the Provincial Administration Department of the Interior Ministry.

But the caller siphoned off her 150,000 baht of savings after asking her to list the damaged assets and instructing her to make an "online registration" for state compensation at an ATM. 

Pol Lt Col Thiraphong explained how the gang will typically make an estimation of the damaged assets at high values of around 300,000 to 500,000 baht to gain their victims' trust.

It will then ask whether they have registered for the state help. If the answer is no, the gang will tell them to do it at the nearest ATM.

"I would like to warn the public that there is no state agency asking flood victims to register through ATMs," Pol Lt Col Thiraphong said.

ATMs are popular channels through which phone scam gangs can get money. They may pretend to be officials from the Revenue Department wanting to give tax rebates or pose as bank staff members claiming that victims owe money to the bank, but all these approaches will end in a trip to an ATM.

The victims have little chance to free themselves from the con once they are standing in front of an ATM. 

They will be told over the phone to "press this and that button" very quickly, which will make it difficult to notice they are actually giving money to the gang, Pol Lt Col Thiraphong said.

In the case of Ms Uthai, police investigators are searching for the whereabouts of the gang.

They are tracking it from the bank through which Ms Uthai's money transfer was made in the hope it will lead to a person who owns the account to which the victim's money was transferred.

The officers have to speed up their investigation in order to prevent the gang from causing similar problems to more flood victims.

However, Pol Lt Col Thiraphong admitted it was difficult to pinpoint the gang because its members may make long-distance calls from foreign countries.

He cited earlier cases of phone scam gangs which were stationed in China or Taiwan. The arrest of this type of con artist requires the cooperation of police in those countries, he said.

Pol Lt Col Thiraphong condemned any scam that targets victims of disasters because it adds further hardship to people already burdened with huge expenses and personal distress.

The scam also further mars the image of Thailand despite state and private efforts to genuinely help many people in flooded areas.

On the one hand, many Thai people have donated relief supplies and money to the victims, but on the other hand, some Thai people are seeking to benefit from the crisis in a range of self-minded actions ranging from charging them high boat service fees, to burglarising evacuated homes or tricking victims into transferring money through an ATM.

Pol Lt Col Thiraphong told people who are registering for state compensation to stay alert to the scam.

"They must keep themselves updated on news and information [on the compensation procedure] so that they will not fall victim to the gang," he said.