Transwoman arrested for stealing 189,000 baht from Sri Lankan tourist

Bangkok Police arrested a Thai transwoman for stealing US$5,500 (189,000 baht) from a Sri Lankan tourist two weeks’ ago.

The Sri Lankan victim, 30 year old Suras, filed a complaint at Huay Kwang Police Station on Sunday, April 9 after discovering that his money was missing. Suras said that he drank alcohol at a bar in the Asoke neighbourhood with the suspect, later identified as 30 year old Naphatsara or Lookpad, at 4am.

Suras admitted that he was very drunk, and he and Lookpad went to his hotel in the Huay Kwang area. Suras claimed that he had sex with Lookpad and then fell asleep. However, when he woke up at 8am, Lookpad had disappeared along with his money of US$5,500.

Officers from Huay Kwang Police Station eventually arrested Lookpad at her dormitory in the Charan Sanit Wong area of Bangkok where she denied the accusation.

Lookpad is being questioned about the incident at the police station. She was initially accused of committing theft at night. The penalty will be imprisonment from one to five years and a fine from 2,000 to 10,000 baht according to Section 335(1) of the Criminal Law.

This is not the first time that such incidents have occurred in the Asok area of Bangkok. In a similar case last year, a transwoman was caught on video pretending to hug a foreign man walking on the pavement and then snatching the gold necklace he was wearing.

The thefts involving Thai transwomen and foreign tourists make headlines several times. During the recent Songkran Festival on Silom Road in Bangkok, a Thai transwoman was caught on a video sexually harassing a Taiwanese tourist and also stealing his wallet. It is unclear whether the transwoman was arrested or not.

A series of theft cases involving transwomen have also been reported in touristy areas such as Phuket and Pattaya. Last year, a Thai transwoman stole a gold necklace from an English tourist in Phuket. In December of the same year, two transwomen stole a gold necklace from a Russian tourist in Pattaya. In April of last year, another two transwomen were reported to have stolen 12,000 baht from an Indian tourist in Pattaya.