Thai man steals gold ring hoping for prison life over freedom
Police show mercy with rehab instead of harsher punishment
A Thai man confessed that he stole a gold ring in Udon Thani province yesterday, September 11, because he wanted to escape his troubled life and return to prison, where he said life felt easier.
Meuang Udon Thani Police Station officers received a report about the theft at a gold shop on the third floor of a shopping mall in the city centre yesterday. The suspect, identified as 30 year old Pakin, was found under the control of shop workers and mall security guards when officers arrived.
Shop staff explained that Pakin entered the store and asked to try on a gold ring worth 28,000 baht. While wearing the ring, he unexpectedly asked, “If I just walk out with this ring, will I be arrested?”
The staff told him firmly that he certainly would be. Moments later, Pakin walked out of the shop with the ring still in his hand. Staff quickly pursued him, seized the ring, and reported the matter to the police.
Another nearby gold shop owner revealed that Pakin had also visited his store earlier that day and asked the same unusual question, although he did not steal anything on that occasion.
During questioning, Pakin admitted that he deliberately committed the theft because he wanted to be sent back to prison. He explained that he had previously served a sentence for theft and had found life behind bars easier than the hardships he faced outside.
Pakin said he was married with a young daughter and that his wife was a good woman, but he felt exhausted and resentful about his life. He added that he failed in many aspects, and that his mother chose to pass her inheritance to her grandchild rather than to him, telling him he had never succeeded at anything.
The suspect also confessed to using methamphetamine, commonly known as Yaba, taking one to two pills each day. He admitted he felt he had become a bad person, but still wished to apologise to his mother and wife.
Pakin’s wife later arrived at the police station carrying their three year old daughter. She urged him to think of his family asking…
“Don’t you feel sorry for our child? Who will support us if you do this?”
She also revealed she had only just discovered his drug use, believing previously that he was simply intoxicated from consuming alcohol.
Police concluded that the suspect had no intent to be violent and that the gold shop did not wish to press charges. On humanitarian grounds, officers charged Pakin only with drug use, recorded his details, and arranged rehabilitation in the hope of preventing a repeat offence.
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