Hat Yai police arrested a thief who broke into the home of a businessman who owns a famous restaurant, stealing money worth over 2 million baht from his residence. He claimed that he used the money to pay off debts and gamble.
Today, the investigation team of Hat Yai Police Station tracked down and arrested a thief who broke into the house of a businessman who owns a famous restaurant in Hat Yai District. The incident occurred on the night of September 1st. The thief stole 36 baht worth of gold and more than 11 diamond rings worth more than 1 million baht. The total value of the stolen goods is more than 2.4 million baht.
The police were able to track down the perpetrator, Mr. Surachet or Mr. Chong, aged 47, and arrested him at a rented house in Soi 1, Suwannawatthana Road, in the Tha Khian community, Hat Yai Municipality. The police had been investigating the area for 6 days, starting with checking CCTV cameras inside the alley where the incident occurred, which only showed the shadow of a car and a perso
n. They then followed the CCTV cameras along the path of the perpetrator until they got footage of the perpetrator riding a motorcycle into Soi 1, Suwannawatthana Road, which was the perpetrator’s final destination. The police disguised themselves as a food delivery rider and circled around to watch the perpetrator’s movements and found him inside the house, so they immediately stormed in to arrest him. At first, the perpetrator denied the charges, but eventually, when the officers pressed him for questioning, he confessed.
From the investigation, Mr. Surachet stated that at around 9 pm on September 1, he broke into the house where the incident occurred, which was about 1 kilometer away from his residence. He used only a screwdriver to force open the back door and cleaned out the belongings inside the wardrobe before rushing out of the house immediately without searching for any more belongings.
The motive was claimed to be to earn money to pay off debts and support 4 children, which was not enough for his
wife who worked. Some of the money from selling the gold, more than 500,000 baht, was used to pay off debts, family expenses and some was used to gamble, and he claimed that this was his first time doing it.
From the search of the house, remaining property was found, including 4 gold bracelets and 1 gold necklace, total weight 20 baht, and 11 diamond rings. Some of the items the perpetrators had sold at gold shops in Phatthalung Province, making over 500,000 baht. Police seized another motorcycle without a license plate that was used in the crime, and the clothing used in the crime.
The initial charges are theft at night and the suspect has been taken to the Hat Yai Police Station for further legal action.
Source: Thai News Agency