Dutchman arrested for office hold-up
PHUKET CITY: A down-on-his-luck Dutchman was arrested yesterday for the June 15 robbery of the management office at the Phuket Villa California residential development.
The man, identified as Jeroen De Valk, 35, allegedly made away with 74,000 baht – but not before CCTV cameras recorded his motorcycle license plate number.
On June 15, a man dressed in black walked into the offices of the development on Chao Fa East Rd. He carried a replica gun and demanded money. Rungruedee Engchuan, the lone office worker at the time, ran for cover while the man searched through the office, eventually making off with the money.
Col Chalit Thintanee, Deputy Commander of Phuket Provincial Police, said that although the man’s face was not visible in the CCTV recording the license plate was clear and led to yesterday’s arrest of De Valk.
At a press conference last night, police said De Valk had lived in Thailand for six months, bought a house on credit, and set up a clothing store with a Thai woman – but the store was not making money.
The gun used in the hold-up turned out to be of the type used for lighting cigarettes, not for shooting bullets.
