Khon Kaen woman breaks down after losing lifetime savings in hospital theft
A Thai woman appealed for help after over 300,000 baht in cash and gold was stolen while she was in a hospital in Khon Kaen in March, saying the investigation has made little progress.
The victim, 63 year old Sompong Sriwiwat, became emotional while speaking to the media, explaining that she had spent a lifetime saving the money and valuables but lost them in a theft occurred at Khao Suan Kwang Hospital at about 4am on March 3.
Sompong stated that she had not received any meaningful update on the case since reporting the theft, so she decided to seek help from the media outlets.
Sompong said she had been admitted to hospital after experiencing chest tightness linked to asthma and hypertension. Doctors advised her to remain in hospital for three to four days so her condition could be monitored.
According to Sompong, her husband stayed with her during the admission but slept in an area designated for relatives, away from her bed.
She told reporters that medication caused her to sleep deeply during the night of March 2. When she woke the following morning, she discovered that her bag, which had been placed on a cabinet beside her bed, had disappeared.
The bag reportedly contained cash, a gold necklace with a Buddhist amulet, a gold bracelet and a mobile phone. A total value of the loss was over 300,000 baht.
Khao Suan Kwang Police Station officers were called to the hospital and reviewed CCTV footage from the ward. The footage showed a man entering the ward, taking the bag and leaving the building. The suspect was wearing a black T-shirt, long jeans, trainers, a hat and a face mask, making identification difficult.
After the case received media attention, Khao Suan Kwang Police Station issued a statement explaining the progress of the investigation.
Station superintendent Peeranat Ngamlertrattanachai said officers had not neglected the case. He said investigators questioned hospital staff and patients who were in the ward at the time, but no witnesses saw the incident.
According to Peeranat, CCTV footage showed the suspect, believed to be between 40 and 50 years old and about 170 centimetres tall, walking through the ward and looking around several beds before taking Sompong’s bag.
Police later recovered the abandoned bag outside the hospital after the suspect fled towards Friendship Highway. Only Sompong’s mobile phone remained inside.
The superintendent added that investigators had coordinated with police in neighbouring districts after similar thefts were reported at other hospitals in the province.
Peeranat acknowledged that identifying the suspect has been the main challenge in the investigation. He assured Sompong that officers are continuing to work on the case and urged her to remain confident that police will identify and arrest the person responsible.
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