Indian tourist in Pattaya claims his wallet with 17,000 baht stolen
In the continuing plague of Indian tourists claiming they had high-value items stolen from them on the streets of Pattaya late at night, an Indian tourist reported that his wallet, along with 17,000 baht inside, was stolen by a transgender person. The 29 year old tourist said that he was in Central Pattaya last night at around 1am when someone snatched his wallet and all the cash inside.
The man claimed he had been with seven or eight other Indian friends when they decided around midnight that they needed some late-night snacks. They hopped on a baht bus and travelled from South Pattaya to Central Pattaya to go to a 7-Eleven, grab some food, and walk around. He said that he was walking around some alleyways with one other friend to burn off the calories of the food they had just eaten when what he believed was a ladyboy drove by on a motorbike and left with his wallet.
The Indian tourist reported that they were approached by what he thought to be a transgender woman who was riding a red and black motorbike with no license plate. The woman solicited him for sex trying to hug and grope him. When he declined, she gave up and quickly drove away on her motorbike.
In a story common in Thailand, the Indian man realized afterward that he had been a victim of flirtatious pickpocketing, where the woman’s physical affection served as a diversion as she slipped her hand in his front pocket and sped off with his wallet.
He headed straight to the police station and reported the incident where he claimed the wallet contained 17,000 baht in cash. The police captain investigated the scene of the theft immediately, reporting that it happened in an alleyway leading to the Pattaya Memorial Hospital on Soi 15 in Central Pattaya.
Police vowed to study available CCTV footage to try to identify and arrest the reported thief, in an attempt to put an end to the rash of Indian tourists being robbed of expensive items, most commonly gold necklaces. As always, police advised that tourists not wear expensive jewelry or carry valuable items or large sums of cash, and to be especially careful late at night or when out alone.
SOURCE: The Pattaya News
