Former Lotus Go Fresh employee steals 298,000 baht from supermarket in Isaan

A former Lotus Go Fresh employee turned from gamekeeper to poacher to steal 298,000 baht from the supermarket in the Isaan province Sa Kaeo. A 21 year old Thai man was arrested yesterday in connection with the theft.

The robbery took place at a supermarket located on Thetsaban 6 Road in the Mueang district of Sa Kaeo. One of the staff members filed a complaint at Mueang Sa Kaeo Police Station after arriving at the store on the morning of Sunday, April 2 and finding an empty safe box.

Police officers checked security cameras and discovered that the thief committed the crime when the store closed at about 11pm. He got into the store by cutting a hole in the shop’s metal sheet wall and put his hand into the hole to open the back door. After getting inside, he cut off the security camera system and stole the money from the safety box.

After investigating and questioning the store’s workers, police managed to identify the thief. He was a former staff member at the store named Sanor Sato. Officers tracked Sanor via security cameras along the road where he rode his motorcycle to escape the scene. Police checked the registration plate and found that it belonged to Sanor’s mother.

The superintendent of the Mueang Sa Kaeo Police Station, Ekanan Hookaoe, said…

“The officers went to his house and found the same hoody that the thief wore during the robbery hanging there but did not find him. We then searched the nearby areas and eventually found him hiding in the forest.”

Sanor eventually admitted to the crime and disclosed that he had previously worked at the store, which had given him a thorough understanding of the premises, enabling him to plan and execute the robbery alone.

The charge issued against Sanor was not reported by the police but according to his action, he could face a penalty of imprisonment from one to five years and a fine of 2,000 to 10,000 baht for violating Section 335 of the Criminal Law for stealing the assets of another person at night.

This is not the first time that a former staff member turned from gamekeeper to poacher.

In February, a couple who robbed 32 PT petrol stations in several provinces in the Isaan area were arrested. One of the suspects worked as a manager for the petrol station and they managed to steal over 2 million baht before getting arrested.