Police Bag Two In Chalong

CHALONG: Pol Col Decha Budnampeth, Chief of Police at Chalong, told a press conference this morning that a woman was robbed of her handbag while crossing the bridge on the road into Wat Chalong early on Saturday. The victim, Areerat Nusri, 34, reported the incident to police at Chalong station at 7:30 Saturday morning. She said the bag had been snatched out of the basket of her motorbike as she was approaching the well-known temple. According to her report, the bag contained 2,600 baht, a mobile phone, and miscellaneous personal items. She told police the perpetrators had been riding a black Honda Nova. A group of about 30 officers then went to the area and found the Nova at the edge of the forest. After a three-hour search, both suspects were rounded up and taken to Chalong station where they confessed to the crime. Ekaphat Eiamwan, 22, and Kane Faijan, 24, both of Surathani, said they had committed similar offences in Phuket on three previous occasions and that the purpose of their crimes was to raise money for drinking. Because there has been a spate of similar incidents in Phuket in recent months, the authorities ask that anyone who has been robbed in a similar manner come to Chalong police station to view the suspects. Pol Col Decha told the Gazette he would like to remind tourists not to put handbags in the baskets of motorbikes, or to ride alone late at night or in the early hours of the morning.