Cash cabaret: Japanese man loses over 60,000 baht to 2 transwomen in Pattaya

A Japanese man lost more than 60,000 baht in cash to two transwomen while travelling on a baht bus in Soi Bua Khao in Pattaya.

The Japanese victim, Toshiaki Shinohe, filed a complaint against the two Thai transwomen at Mueang Pattaya Police Station around 10.30pm yesterday, November 9. He said the transwomen pickpocketed 60,000 baht cash, 40,000 Thai baht and 100,000 Japanese yen (about 24,000 baht).

Shinohe explained that the theft took place on a baht bus. He was on the bus with another friend, and they sat opposite each other. On the way, in Soi Bua Khao, two transwomen boarded the bus and sat on either side of him.

According to Shinohe, the two transwomen started a conversation with him, urging him to look at things outside the vehicle. They seized the opportunity when he looked to steal from his backpack, which was on the floor of the car before they dashed from the vehicle.

Shinohe said he did not immediately realise that the transwomen were thieves. He later found his belongings missing and suspected that the thieves must have been them.

Police officials promised to investigate the identity of the two thieves and checked surveillance cameras along Soi Bua Khao to track them down.

The theft was similar to a previous one reported in September. A 55 year old foreign man, Hasan Almuqahwi, sought help from police after losing a wallet containing over 12,000 baht in cash to two Thai thieves, one woman and one transwoman.

What Almuqahwi told the police is similar to what Shinohe faced. A Thai woman and a transwoman sat on either side of him on a baht bus in Soi Bua Khao. They talked to him and drew his attention away from his belongings.

When he got off the bus, the transwoman put her hands in his trouser pocket, grabbed his wallet and ran away. He refused to accept his fate and ran after the two thieves, but was unable to catch them in time. Almuqahwi complained to the police, but there has been no news of their arrest.