Victims lost nearly 1 million baht at hotel, secret doors found in rooms

Thai victims lost nearly one million baht in cash and assets to a thief at a hotel in the central province of Kanchanaburi. The secret and suspicious doors were discovered inside the room. The hotel owner claimed that the doors were an escape route for mistresses.

The victims were two families who checked in and stayed at the hotel on April 26 of this year. They filed a complaint with the officers at the Mueang Kanchanaburi Police Station, but there was no progress even though three months had passed. So, they sought help from Thai media agencies on June 16.

One of the victims, 43 year old Asana “Por” Kaenkaew, spoke to the media about the theft yesterday. Por explained that he, his wife, and one year old daughter travelled from their house in the southern province of Songkhla to visit his younger brother in Kanchanaburi on April 26.

According to Por, the family checked in at the hotel in the evening and went out to dine with the brother and returned to the hotel at 11pm. They went to sleep without any security concerns as their room was located close to the hotel security guard station. Moreover, the hotel was located on the roadside which was pretty busy with cars.

When Por and his wife woke up at 7am the next they, they were surprised that their daughter did not wake up in the middle of the night as she used to. They did not feel suspicious until finding their assets vanished including a gold necklace, gold ring, diamond ring, valuable amulets, and cash worth 710,000 baht in total.

In a rush of panic, Por and his wife hurriedly left their room to check if they had left their belongings in the car. However, they stumbled upon another victim, Pinyo, staying in the neighbouring room. Pinyo confirmed that his wallet and 7,000 baht in cash had also been stolen.

Por and Pinyo helped each other in checking inside the rooms, doors, and windows until the two discovered secret doors inside their rooms. From the inside, these doors appeared as mirrors, but they revealed themselves as doorways when viewed from the outside. The doors were completed with locks on the outer side as well.

The victims insisted that the hotel did not inform them about the secret doors during check-in. The hotel owner claimed that he installed secret doors for mistresses to escape from their lovers’ partners.

Por informed the media that the hotel denied to compensate for their losses. The hotel owner argued that the victims could not prove the existence of their assets, shifting the responsibility onto the victims. The hotel owner insisted that he would not be responsible for their losses if they forgot their belongings and assets in the room by themselves.

Por added that the officers from the Mueang Kanchanaburi Police Station visited the scene to collect evidence and investigate traces left by the thief. Footprints and fingerprints were left on the secret door and air conditioning compressors. However, the officers did not provide any updates to the victims even if three months had passed.