Motorbike taxi driver helps nab gold thief in Pattaya
In Pattaya, a courageous motorbike taxi driver, known as a Win, assisted in apprehending an 18 year old gold thief yesterday. The young offender claimed that the high cost of living in the city drove him to commit the crime. The incident occurred at 3pm at the Yaowarat Gold Shop on South Pattaya Road, situated in the Nong Prue sub-district of Bang Lamung District, Chonburi province.
Following the event, 25 year old gold shop employee Chamaiporn Kulbutr provided her account to the police. She reported that the thief, Thanakrit Tamonlapap, entered the store and requested to see a 5-baht weight gold necklace. Chamaiporn handed over two necklaces for him to choose from, and at that moment, foreign customers entered the store. Seizing the opportunity, the young Thai man snatched both gold necklaces and fled the shop.
Chamaiporn immediately pursued the thief, calling for assistance. Panuwit Maleewal, a 36 year old Win driver, happened to be nearby and promptly joined the chase to help catch the culprit before contacting local police. According to Panuwit, he usually operated in the South Pattaya area and noticed Chamaiporn running after the suspect, shouting for help. He felt compelled to assist, despite not knowing whether the thief was armed.
As for the 18 year old suspect, Thanakrit claimed to the police that he was neither a drug addict nor a gambler. His sole motivation for the crime was to sell the stolen jewellery to improve his quality of life and cope with the high cost of living in Pattaya.
Following the dramatic event, Pattaya Police took Thanakrit into custody for legal proceedings. They also discovered that he had committed a similar crime the night before.
This is just the latest incident in Pattaya’s problem with gold thefts.
Last month, a transgender suspect allegedly snatched cash and gold necklaces from a Russian couple in Pattaya.
