Gold thief begs for freedom after being trapped by security door
All that glitters is not gold, so the aphorism goes, as an ex-con found out when he returned to his old ways and tried to steal a gold necklace. He got trapped by the shop’s security door trying to steal the precious item and was sent back to jail despite pleading with the shop owner for his freedom.
The owner of the Suwanna gold shop on Rat Uthit Road in the Hat Yai district of Songkhla revealed that the theft happened yesterday, December 26, at 2pm. The thief, who was later identified as 27 year old Natthanon Kwanthong, parked his motorcycle in front of the premises, entered the shop, and asked to see a 30,000 baht gold necklace.
The shop owner said she knew there was something was amiss because he left his motorcycle engine running before entering the shop. So, she and her staff prepared to deal with the possible theft.
Footage from the shop’s security camera showed Natthanon snatch the gold necklace from a member of staff and try it on. He agreed to buy the necklace and pretended to use his phone to transfer the money. He suddenly turned to make an escape when a member of staff was preparing to sort out the money transfer.
Natthanon tried to open the front door but found it was locked because the staff switched on the security code to lock the door.
Natthanon politely begged the staff for his freedom. He took off the gold necklace, handed it back and begged the staff to let him go. Natthanon waied to the owner and the staff but it did not work. Then, the shop notified the officers from Hat Yai Police Station to arrest Natthanon. He informed the police that he wanted money for his new year trip.
The investigating officer revealed that Natthanon had just been released from prison for theft. According to Section 334 of the Criminal Law, Natthanon faces up to three years in prison and a fine of up to 60,000 baht.
