The recent viral story of a Thai male model, who enraged the country for posting a photo of his welfare card in between Starbucks selfies and pictures of luxury goods, made the Thai government rethink who should qualify for its social welfare program.
Suwich Rojanawanich, director of the Fiscal Policy Office, said that the Ministry of Finance will review the qualifications for those entitled to receive social benefits before the next registration takes place in 2019.
That said, low-income earners who have another person supporting them may no longer qualify to receive monthly welfare money in the next round, after 26-year-old model Wachrin Tankuranan claimed that he could afford a luxury lifestyle because his friends paid.
Suwich said that the model is still being investigated but, on paper, he’s absolutely qualified to receive a welfare card. Therefore, the government has not removed him from the social benefit program yet, Khaosod reported.
In early October, the government handed out welfare cards to seven million low-income earners, who registered for the program. In order to qualify, they had to earn less than THB100,000 (US$3,000) per year, have less than THB100,000 in their bank account, and not own any real estate.
The card is recharged with THB1,700-THB1,800 (about US$50) each month to allow financially disadvantaged Thais to pay for groceries, water bills, and transportation fees.
