Girl, 17, steals B50,000 from Gov’s house

PHUKET TOWN: A 17-year-old girl being held on a charge of stealing 50,000 baht from the Governor’s Residence yesterday tried committing suicide by slitting her wrists with pieces of her broken plastic bracelet. Pol Capt Akkanit Danpitaksasna, of Phuket Town Police Station, today said the girl was being held at the station after confessing to stealing 50,000 baht belonging to the Governor’s wife, Mantana. Capt Akkanit explained that Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi called the police at about 9 pm on Monday, and reported that 50,000 baht belonging to his wife had been stolen. Officers arrived at the house where the housekeeper told them that a teenage girl had come to the house at about 5 pm that day. The girl had said that she had come to see K. Mantana about work at the residence. The girl told the housekeeper that she was well acquainted with K. Mantana because she had often given her facial treatments at a Phuket Town beauty salon. However, K. Mantana was not at home, so the girl left a note on a dining room sideboard, next to an envelope containing the cash. Officers arrested the girl later that night as she was walking home along Takuapa Rd. She had an Orange mobile phone, which she had bought that day. Police took her to the Governor’s Residence where she confessed to stealing the money and returned what she had not spent. She was then taken to Phuket Town Police Station and charged with theft. An officer on duty saw the girl trying to cut her wrists at about 5 am. She was taken to Wachira Phuket Hospital for treatment before being returned to her cell, where she awaits trial in Juvenile Court.