Cat-nabbed: Thai man’s purr-fect crime outside Phuket bank (video)

Police arrested a Thai man for stealing a cat from outside a bank in the Wichit district of Phuket. The man claimed he intended to pet the cat but many Thai netizens suspected he intended to eat it.

The cat’s owner posted CCTV footage on social media showing the thief, identified as 32 year old Nattaphon, taking her white cat named Konmek (meaning cloud) on Monday, July 15. The footage showed Nattaphon carrying the cat and placing it in a storage compartment under his motorcycle seat before leaving the scene.

The video garnered significant attention from Thai netizens, especially cat lovers. Some suggested Nattaphon might be a cat lover who mistook Konmek for a stray.

However, many others disagreed, arguing that if Nattaphon truly loved cats, he would not have placed it in the motorcycle storage compartment where it could not breathe. They suspected Nattaphon of stealing the cat for consumption.

The owner filed a complaint against Nattaphon at Wichit Police Station, leading to his arrest on the evening of Tuesday, July 16. Nattaphon insisted that he liked Konmek because of its white fur and blue eyes.

He claimed that when he opened the motorcycle storage compartment at home, the cat immediately ran away and disappeared.

Konmek’s owner visited Nattaphon’s home to search for the cat but her efforts were unsuccessful. She urged netizens to share the video and pictures of Konmek in the hope of finding her beloved pet.

In a similar incident, a Thai woman sought help from her community after her mother became depressed following the theft of her orange cat. Security camera footage showed a woman with short hair grabbing the cat while it was playing near their home.

Another animal-related story emerged in May. In this case, the suspect did not steal a pet but instead committed a cruel act against his dog. Neighbouring CCTV footage showed him wrapping a rope around the dog’s neck, dragging it, and eventually hanging it from a tree until it died.

The man then consumed his dog before being arrested. He confessed to killing and eating the animal, claiming he acted out of anger after the dog bit his nephew.