Knife thug robs Saraburi gold shop, takes customer hostage (video)
Manhunt underway for armed thief who escaped across district border
Police are hunting a knife-wielding robber who held a customer hostage during a gold shop robbery in Saraburi, central Thailand, escaping on a motorcycle with stolen jewellery.
The incident took place at Por Udomsuk gold shop in Tha Lan market, Ban Mo district, at around 4.30pm on Wednesday, September 17. Police Captain Sombat Phonsing, deputy investigation chief at Banmor Police Station, said the suspect fled on a motorcycle towards Ayutthaya province.
Security camera footage showed the man, believed to be 30 to 40 years old, arriving on a motorcycle without a licence plate. Wearing a crash helmet, mask, jeans and a long-sleeved jacket, he forced his way through the shop’s glass door and grabbed a female customer.
The customer was identified as 57 year old Sureenut Buasri, who had just pawned a gold ring. The man choked her and pressed a knife against her waist while demanding gold from the shop owner, 72 year old Nanthawan Piamkhiew.
Fearing for the woman’s life, Nanthawan handed over 15 gold necklaces worth around 240,000 baht. The robber then fled the scene on his motorcycle.
Sureenut, visibly shaken, later told police she had pawned her ring for 5,000 baht to cover medical treatment for her five year old grandson, reported Bangkok Post.
“I thought I was going to die. I kept thinking about my children and grandchildren.”
According to police, the robber shouted during the incident that he needed money to pay off gambling debts.
The shop had been targeted just two months earlier in another robbery. In that case, a man stole a gold ring worth over 50,000 baht but was later caught.
Officers are reviewing security footage and have launched a manhunt to track down the latest suspect.
In similar news, a man disguised in a delivery rider’s uniform is on the run after stealing gold accessories worth more than 8 million baht from a jewellery shop in Samut Prakan province.
The robbery took place at the Yaowarat Krung Thep gold shop in a shopping mall. The incident was reported to Bang Bo police on August 14. The thief fled with 59 items of jewellery before escaping on a motorcycle.
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