Russian man steals bag with 15,000 baht cash & phone in Phuket

A Thai woman issued a warning to locals in Phuket after a Russian man stole her bag, containing 15,000 baht in cash and a mobile phone, at a bar in the Karon neighbourhood on Wednesday.

The victim shared the story with Phuket Times yesterday, June 20, stating that she worked at a bar in the Karon area of Phuket and left her bag at the counter while she went to buy food from a nearby stall.

Unfortunately, she returned to the bar to find her bag missing. Upon checking the CCTV footage, the thief was clearly identified.

The footage showed the Russian man grabbing the victim’s bag before leaving the bar. The victim revealed to the media that the man arrived at the bar with his girlfriend but he committed the crime alone. She was not certain whether his girlfriend knew about the theft or not.

In an interview with Phuket Times, the woman stated her disappointment.

“I would like to issue a warning to others. Don’t be reckless and leave anything behind. You cannot trust anyone, especially foreigners.”

Visa-free measure blamed

Similar to previous incidents, Thai netizens flooded the comment section with complaints about the visa-free policy. Others shared their experiences of thefts committed by foreigners in Phuket.

“Be careful with Chinese and Indian tourists as well.”

“Foreign criminals come to Thailand easily during this government. They have sex in public, walk naked around the town, and steal from everywhere.”

“They even dare to steal from 7-Eleven.”

“The government should consider a prison for foreign criminals, as there are too many nowadays.”

“Please cancel visa-free measures for Russian tourists. They come for work, not for travel, and look down on Thai people. Their businesses don’t welcome Thais. They don’t even smile at locals. I don’t like them.”

“7-Eleven in the Rawai area was robbed many times.”

However, others voiced differing opinions, blaming the victim for her recklessness. Some added that they did not want the visa-free policy to be cancelled, as the number of foreign tourists had decreased. They said business operators had to fight each other to win customers nowadays.

In a related report, another Thai woman took to social media last week to share a picture of a foreign man who stole her motorcycle parked in the Chalong district of Phuket. The foreigner remains at large.

Another foreign motorcycle thief was reported in Pattaya at the beginning of June but the police managed to arrest him after the crime.

Two other foreign women were caught stealing from a souvenir shop in Krabi in April, but there has been no further report on their arrest.