Tourist police arrest man for stealing iPhone on Koh Larn ferry

A man from Ayutthaya was arrested by the Pattaya Tourist Police yesterday for allegedly stealing a tourist’s iPhone on a ferry to Koh Larn. Identified as 52 year old Somchai Buengnok, the suspect has an extensive criminal record.

At approximately 10.30am, yesterday, September 8, Senior Inspector of Tourist Police Division 4, Police Lieutenant Colonel Piyapong Ensan, received a report from 37 year old Nicha, a tourist who claimed her iPhone had been stolen.

Nicha reported that while on the ferry to Koh Larn, a Thai man around 50 years old befriended her. Upon arriving at Hat Ta Waen Beach, she discovered her phone was missing and suspected the man she had spoken with.

Upon receiving the report, Piyapong immediately dispatched patrol officers and detectives to investigate the incident. They reviewed CCTV footage and gathered descriptions from the victim. The suspect was later spotted walking around Ta Waen Beach.

Police identified the suspect as Somchai Buengnok and searched him, finding the stolen iPhone in his shoulder bag. Buengnok confessed to the theft and was taken into custody.

Further investigation revealed Buengnok’s extensive criminal history, including indecent acts with a child under 15 in 2021, theft in 2021, and nighttime theft earlier this year. Buengnok has been detained and will face legal action for his latest offence, reported The Pattaya News.

In related news, a thief targeted an apartment building in Pattaya and made off with valuables worth over 10,000 baht. This incident unfolded at a two-story apartment on Soi Khao Talo 9, in the Nong Prue subdistrict of Bang Lamung district, Chon Buri province.

In other news, the director of Mongkutwattana Hospital in Bangkok sparked a storm of controversy with a plan to punish smokers who defy his anti-smoking ban, drawing comparisons to Nazi Germany’s grim practices.

Rienthong Nanna, the director of the private hospital located in the Laksi district, declared on Facebook that he would confine defiant smokers in ‘gas chambers’ made from old telephone booths until they inhale 100% of their cigarette smoke.