Man arrested for stealing over 10 million baht in valuables at a fitness centre
A thief who stole over 10 million baht of valuables from a businessman at a fitness centre two weeks ago was arrested yesterday. The man pretended to be a fitness centre customer, stole safety box keys, and duplicated the keys to complete a series of thefts.
On Tuesday, January 10, 35 year old businessman, Sathit, filed a complaint at Mueang Nonthaburi Police Station after valuables worth over 10 million baht disappeared from a safety box inside the locker room of a fitness centre at a shopping mall on Ngam Wongwarn Road in Nonthaburi province.
No security camera was available at the spot, the safety box was not broken, and the thief did not leave any fingerprints.
The superintendent of the Mueang Nonthaburi Police Station, Jaturon Anurakbandit, reported to the media yesterday that the officers arrested the thief, 38 year old Narongpon Pongsothorn, at his condominium near the shopping mall.
Jaturon explained that officers checked every security camera in the fitness centre and nearby areas, as well as questioned staff and customers who were present on that day until they found the suspect.
Police raided Narongpon’s room and found Sathit’s belongings, including valuable amulets and a Rolex gem-decorated watch. The other valuables, including a gold necklace, a diamond bracelet, and a diamond ring, were recovered from a pawnshop near Narongpon’s condo.
Narongpon confessed that he applied for membership and pretended to be a fitness centre customer. He stole a safety box key every time he visited and replicated them.
Narongpon said he saw Sathit put a lot of valuables in his box and waited until he went to exercise before stealing them.
The investigating officer told the press that he would question Narongpon about the previous fitness centre thefts and return belongings to the victims.
Police did not report Narongpon’s charges.
According to the Criminal Law, Narongpon will be charged under Section 334: whoever steals the assets of another person shall be punished with imprisonment for up to three years and a fine of up to 60,000 baht.
ORIGINAL STORY: Assets over 10 million baht stolen from businessman at fitness centre
A businessman filed a complaint with police after assets of over 10 million baht were stolen from a fitness centre safety box at a shopping mall on Ngam Wongwarn Road in Nonthaburi.
This isn’t the first time the fitness centre has been targeted by thieves. Their task is made a lot easier by the fact there are no security cameras near the safety box.
The victim, Sathit, shared his story with the media yesterday.
The 35 year old said he is a member of the shopping mall’s gym and goes there almost every day after work.
On Tuesday, January 10, at 6pm, Sathit visited the gym, changed into his fitness gear, took off all his accessories, put them in a bag, and locked them in a safety box.
Sathit spent two hours exercising before returning to the locker room and safety box only to find it empty.
Sathit said he was in shock because the bag held three valuable amulets, a gold necklace, a Rolex gem-decorated watch, a diamond bracelet, a diamond ring, and a Louis Vuitton keychain. The assets were worth over 10 million baht, and he worked hard for years to earn them.
Sathit notified fitness staff of the theft and reported the issue to the police. Officers arrived at the scene and found no traces of theft or any fingerprints on the safety box.
Sathit urged the fitness staff to check the security camera but was shocked to discover there was no CCTV camera in the locker room.
Sathit suspects the thief had a spare key and also discovered that previous thefts at the gym were similar in nature, with assets being taken from the gym’s safety boxes.
Sathit stated to the media that no information has been provided by either the police or the fitness centre, and as a result, he plans to take legal action against the fitness centre to seek compensation.
