Thai soldier with gambling addiction nabbed for stealing gold to pay dowry

Police arrested a Thai soldier for stealing two gold necklaces worth 340,000 baht from a shop in Prahum Thani province near Bangkok. The soldier claimed he lost all his money gambling online and needed a dowry to marry his girlfriend.

Officers from Suan Prik Thai Police Station were notified about the gold theft yesterday afternoon, December 13. The theft took place at a gold shop in the Poon Sub Market in Pathum Thani province. The thief made off with two gold necklaces weighing 80 grammes each, worth 340,000 baht.

The shop employee revealed to police that a Thai man entered the shop in a dark blue jacket, long black pants, and flip-flops. He requested to see a gold necklace weighing 160 grammes but the shop did not have it. So, the employee suggested he see the 80-gramme necklace instead.

The man expressed dissatisfaction with the pattern on the necklace and requested additional options. In response, a staff member presented another 80-gramme necklace with a different design for his consideration.

While posing several questions to the staff, the man suddenly seized the gold necklaces and hastily fled the shop, coincidentally alongside another customer. CCTV footage captured the man escaping in an SUV, heading towards the Talaysor district in the Isaan province of Nakhon Ratchasima.

Law enforcement promptly established a checkpoint along his route and successfully apprehended him in the province on December 14. The pilfered gold necklaces were discovered in his vehicle.

Groom gambles dowry

The thief was identified as Worrachon, a 31 year old soldier. He served the Royal Thai Army at a compound in Bangkok. The SUV that he used in the crime belonged to his girlfriend.

Worrachon admitted to squandering the dowry allocated for the forthcoming wedding ceremony on online gambling, leaving him without any funds for his girlfriend. In a misguided attempt to secure money for the wedding, he opted to steal the gold necklaces to sell them. He did not disclose whether his girlfriend was aware of the theft.

A similar dowry crime was reported in the Isaan province of Khon Kaen when a groom-to-be faked a dowry theft to escape the dowry problem.

The man reported to police that a thief smashed his car window and stole 500,000 baht cash and 10,000 baht gold before confessing that he had broken the car himself and that no one had stolen his assets. He was in debt and unable to give his girlfriend a dowry.