Scrap metal heist ends in deadly drop for ex-con in Pattaya
A bungling thief met a grim end when he plunged to his death while trying to nick scrap metal from an abandoned condo in Sattahip, just days after being released from prison.
Police were called to the derelict eight-storey building in Moo 2, Na Jomtien, on March 30 after a grim discovery. Lying lifeless on the second floor was 50 year old Somjai, dressed in a green short-sleeved shirt, black shorts, and sneakers.
A deep head wound suggested he had been dead for around six hours. Nearby, a crude bamboo-and-wood ladder linked the second and third floors, a makeshift bridge to disaster.
His accomplice, 43 year old Panya, was found at the scene, visibly shaken and sporting bloodstains on his trousers. It was Panya who had alerted authorities to the tragedy.
During questioning, he confessed the duo had broken into the abandoned building at noon to steal steel and electrical wires for cash. While he remained on the first floor, Somjai climbed up to the second using the wobbly ladder.
Hours later, a sickening crash echoed through the empty structure. Rushing to investigate, Panya found his partner-in-crime sprawled on the ground, lifeless, Pattaya News reported.
Somjai’s body has been sent to the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Bangkok for an autopsy. Meanwhile, a background check on Panya uncovered a rap sheet, he had walked free from Pattaya Prison just nine days earlier after serving time for drug offences. To make matters worse, he also had a theft conviction from earlier this year.
Police are now investigating whether any further charges will be filed in connection with the botched burglary.
In other news, a foreigner was nabbed by Pattaya police after being caught vandalising public property with graffiti. The suspect, whose identity has not been revealed, was detained on Saturday, March 29 shortly after concerned locals alerted police to the act.
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