Thai man loses 40,000 baht after allowing friend to access debit card
Case nearly expires before police track suspect and bring justice to victim
A Thai man finally received justice nine years after losing 40,000 baht to a trusted friend, whom he had allowed access to his debit card and password.
The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested 65 year old Suthee, who had been evading capture for nine years. He was charged with two offences committed against his colleague in 2016, including:
- Section 269/5 of the Criminal Law: using another person’s electronic card in a manner likely to cause damage to the cardholder. The penalty is imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to 100,000 baht, or both.
- Section 335(1) of the Criminal Law: committing theft at night. The penalty is imprisonment from one to five years and a fine between 20,000 and 100,000 baht.
According to a report on Channel 7, the victim was identified as Somchai. He filed a complaint with Mueang Kanchanaburi Police Station in June 2016 after discovering he had lost 40,000 baht to Suthee. The two men had worked together at a car showroom for many years, which had fostered Somchai’s trust in his colleague.
On the day of the incident, Suthee asked to borrow 2,000 baht. As Somchai did not have cash on hand, he handed Suthee his debit card along with the password, asking him to withdraw the money himself.
The following day, Suthee returned the card and showed Somchai a withdrawal slip. However, he did not return to work again and cut off all contact with colleagues at the company.
Somchai only realised the deception when a finance officer, who had used the same ATM as Suthee, noticed suspicious withdrawal slips linked to Somchai’s account and handed them to him.
The slips revealed four withdrawals made by Suthee: 1,000 baht, 4,500 baht, 30,000 baht, and 2,000 baht. Only the final slip was shown to the victim.
Police revealed to the media that the case was close to expiring, prompting them to act quickly. They eventually tracked Suthee to his home in Kanchanaburi, where he had returned from hiding. He reportedly admitted his wrongdoing and cooperated with the legal process.
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