Mother arrested for gold theft amid lender threats in Thailand
A 27 year old mother was arrested for stealing a gold bracelet after facing dire financial straits. She resorted to stealing following threats from a lender who intimidated her by threatening her four month old child.
The incident occurred on January 12 in a gold shop in Hua Ro, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya district, Ayutthaya province. Suwichada Ongying, who works as a motorcycle rider through an application, admitted to the theft.
Struggling financially after the birth of her child, the mother of one borrowed 7,000 baht (US$200) online, believing it was a monthly repayment scheme, only to discover it required weekly payments. This miscalculation added a 4,000 baht (US$115) interest, and the lender threatened to harm her and her child.
Feeling trapped, Suwichada entered the gold shop, pretending to be interested in a 2 salung gold bracelet. During a moment of distraction from the shop staff, she seized the bracelet and hid it in her jeans pocket. Claiming she needed to withdraw cash, she left the shop and fled on her motorcycle.
Subsequently, she sold the bracelet in Bangkok, using the proceeds to pay over 10,000 baht (US$290) to her lender, reserving the remainder for her child’s milk. Her life returned to normal until her arrest by the police from Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya station, reported KhaoSod.
Police Colonel Monchai Luangprasert, deputy chief of investigation at Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Police Station, led the investigation, obtaining a warrant from Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province court. Suwichada was apprehended while riding her motorcycle on a public road in Bang Sue district, Bangkok.
In related news, two Liberian nationals have been detained in connection with a gold-selling scam in Bangkok that resulted in the theft of US$90,000, equivalent to around 3 million baht, from a Thai businessman. The scam involved swapping counterfeit banknotes for genuine ones.
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