Thief sparks investigation

BANGKOK : The remains of a would-be thief were found lying on the floor of a new home being constructed for Yingluck Shinawatra, sister of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and one Thailand’s wealthiest women. A construction worker arriving at the worksite on the morning of October 21 made the gruesome discovery near the back of the partly-constructed mansion, located on a three-rai expanse in Bangkok’s Lardprao area. The workman found the body of a man wearing dark clothes and a tool satchel containing pliers, wire strippers, scissors and other implements of his trade. Atop him lay an electric cable that ran from the partially-disassembled electric motor of a nearby cement mixer. Noting the fact that the motor’s two support bolts had been removed, and the tools and the lifeless body, investigators theorized that the man had sneaked onto the property under cover of darkness to steal the motor – but electrocuted himself instead. Lardprao District Police said thievery in the area – home to both some of Thailand’s richest families and its most destitute urban poor – was a common occurrence. Nevertheless, he said, an investigation was underway to identify the man and and try determine just how he died.