Thai man arrested for stealing 3.4 million baht from 97 year old woman

Police arrested a light-fingered Thai man for stealing 3.4 million baht from a 97 year old Thai woman by transferring money to his bank account 127 times using a mobile banking application.

A community leader, Jadesada Cha-onchom, accompanied the 97 year old victim, identified only as A, to file a complaint against the alleged 24 year old thief, Thanaphat Jaipeng, at Baan Pong Police Station in the central province of Ratchaburi on January 16.

Jadesada told police that A lived alone in the community. She did not understand the complicated financial transactions at the bank, so she hired Thanaphat to accompany her to the bank to withdraw money on December 30 last year.

A visited the bank again on January 15 and discovered that most of her money had disappeared. She then sought help from Jadesada, which led to an investigation into her bank account’s transaction.

Bank staff members discovered that the money was transferred to Thanaphat’s bank account 127 times. The total amount stolen was around 3.4 million baht. A and the community chief then reported the matter to the Baan Pong Police Station.

A told ThaiRath that she and her husband did not have children and moved to a southern province to work when she was 25 years old. Her husband gave her 20,000 to 30,000 baht every month, and she saved it to use in their retirement.

After her husband died, she moved back to her home province of Ratchaburi and spent her savings on daily living and making merit. She had no children or relatives, so she had to ask or hire neighbours and people in the community to take her to the bank.

A added that she heard about Thanaphat’s criminal history but she could not find anyone else and had to go to the bank with him.

Police arrested Thanaphat at his home on January 16 and seized assets he obtained with stolen money including 1.2 million baht in cash, gold necklaces and bars worth about 750,000 baht, a white BMW, a motorcycle, 23 lottery tickets, and 140 online lottery tickets.

Thanaphat confessed that he used A’s personal information to use a mobile banking application and transfer money to his account every day in amounts ranging from 20,000 to 40,000 baht.

Thanaphat was charged under Sections 334 and 335 of the Criminal Law: committing theft both in the day and night time. The minimum penalty is imprisonment from one to five years and a fine from 20,000 to 100,000 baht.