Action stunt leaves fleeing Phuket thief with broken neck

PHUKET: A man broke his neck after falling from the fourth floor of a Phuket apartment building while trying to escape two women who caught him red-handed stealing from their room.

Patong Police were notified at about 1pm yesterday that 32-year-old Mongkolchai Na-Tawan had fallen after trying to jump from a fourth-floor room in one apartment building into another room in the next building over on Ratpatanusorn Road.

“When we arrived at the scene, we found Mr Mongkolchai wailing on the ground, bleeding. He broke his neck in the fall,” said Lt Col Khunnadet Na Nongkhai of the Patong Police.

Kritsana Sangnurak and Whanjai Wetpana had come home that day to find Mr Mongkolchai rummaging through their things.

“When we returned from shopping, I saw a man stealing from our room. He was trying to take 40,000 baht worth of gold, 15,000 baht in cash, a laptop and an iPad,” Ms Kritsana explained.

“When he saw us he tried to run away, so I grabbed a knife and chased him toward the window. He was trying to jump from our room into a room in the next building over. Unfortunately, he could not make the jump and fell down into the street.”

Rescue workers treated Mr Mongkolchai at the scene before transferring him to Patong Hospital.

“He was charged with theft,” said Lt Col Khunnadet.

— Thawit Bilabdullar