Couple get lucky with stolen ATM card, then get arrested

PHUKET: A Thai couple relieved an Irish expat of more than 750,000 baht after stealing his ATM card in Phuket and guessing his PIN number from his birth date, police said.

Chai Bunrit, 26, and Pacharin Rathanaphansunthara, 24, then went on a spree, buying a car and staying in luxury hotels across the South before their arrest in a luxury hotel in Nakhon Sri Thammarat last night.

They are now being held at Chalong Police Station.

On May 12, the victim, 41-year-old Decland Rowland, parked his pick-up on the Karon Beach Road and went for a swim with his Thai girlfriend.

He left the vehicle unlocked. The passing couple took advantage of his mistake and stole his ATM card, cellphone, 5,000 baht, five rings and various documents from inside, police said.

After discovering he’d been robbed, Mr Rowland tried to cancel his card – but his bank was closed.

In the meantime, the suspects guessed his PIN number by using his birth date, police said.

They allegedly bought a second-hand Toyota Vios using Mr Rowland’s cash and used his bank card to make 33 transactions adding up to 750,800 baht.

A team of officers from Chalong Police Station and Region 8 Headquarters in Surat Thani caught the couple in a Nakhon Sri Thammarat hotel on Wednesday night.

The pair face a variety of charges, including theft and fraud.

— Gazette reporter