Hotel maids busted for stealing from Pattaya tourist’s room years ago

Two hotel maids were busted yesterday for stealing items including gold jewellery and cash from a tourist’s room in Pattaya years ago. Police arrested one suspect, 44 year old Aranya, at a rental room in the central Ayutthaya province. They arrested the other suspect, 36 year old Pratchalee, in Samut Prakan.

Aranya was arrested under a warrant issued by the Pattaya Provincial Court in January 2018. Pratchalee was arrested for allegedly partnering with Aranya to commit a burglary. Pratchalee was previously arrested under a warrant issued in October 2017.

Police said that Aranya and Prachalee had worked in a hotel in Bang Lamung’s Naklua sub-district. The two allegedly used the hotel’s universal keycard to get into a tourist’s room while the tourists were eating breakfast. But CCTV footage reportedly caught the crooks in the act.

Aranya and Prachalee allegedly snatched a three-baht-weight gold necklace, an amulet, and 100,000 baht in cash.

The suspects reportedly admitted to selling the gold necklace for 60,000 baht, but one of them said they still wore the amulet around their neck.

Aranya and Prachalee were taken to Pattaya Police Station to wait for further legal action.

As a major tourist hotspot, Pattaya has been the site of numerous thefts. Earlier this month, a Korean tourist in Pattaya told police that a transgender person pickpocketed him on a beach. The tourist, 43 year old Sanghyeon Lee, said he was walking on Pattaya Beach with friends when the thief walked up to him and tried to seduce him. Lee declined the offer and later realised the thieves had stolen 5,000 baht from him.

Aranya and Prachalee may have finally been caught, but it doesn’t look like Pattaya’s problem with thefts against tourists is ending any time soon.