Pattaya’s transgender thieves target Indian men in separate incidents

An age-old legend has once again repeated itself.

In Pattaya, two Indian men separately reported thefts by transgender individuals on the same night. In both incidents, the thieves ripped gold necklaces off the victims’ necks.

The first incident took place when 34 year old Nagasesha Reddy Neeruganti was walking along Pattaya Beach with friends near Soi 13. A transgender person approached and hugged him, followed by another who removed his gold necklace, worth 66,000 baht, from his neck. The thieves then fled on a motorbike. This incident occurred only five metres from a police box. Neeruganti and his friends tried to chase the suspects but were unsuccessful.

Gurdeep Singh, a 33 year old Indian businessman, reported a similar incident to the Pattaya City Police. He claimed he was walking on Pattaya Second Road when two transgender individuals tried to hug him before taking his gold necklace, worth 26,000 baht, and speeding away.

Captain Puttaruk Sornkamharn of the Pattaya City Police stated that it is unclear if the two sets of suspects in these incidents are the same individuals. However, police are reviewing CCTV footage for further information and potential legal action, The Pattaya News reported. Captain Puttaruk noted that such incidents harm tourism in the area.

This news comes less than a month after another transgender individual committed theft in Pattaya.

On April 26, cops caught a transwoman changing her hair colour at a salon after she robbed a Pattaya gold shop. The suspect stole two gold chains weighing 2 baht each from the Phet Thong Wanida jewellery store located in Pattaya’s Soi Nern Plub Wan at 11.20am.

Police said the suspect walked into the shop wearing a face mask and requested to try on two gold chains before dashing away on a motorbike parked in front of the store. After the robbery, the store owner alerted the Pattaya Police who quickly tracked the suspect’s movements. Four hours later, police caught the suspect changing her hair colour at a hair salon.