Woman robbed in motorbike ambush

WICHIT: Three men on two motorbikes early yesterday morning forced a woman riding her motorbike along Sakdidet Rd to pull over and then robbed her of her mobile phone and 2,000 baht. Pol Lt Parichat Chaturonpan, from Phuket Town Police Station, told the Gazette that Jiemjit Baewtungnoi, 31, reported the robbery at 7 am yesterday. He said that K. Jiemjit explained that, at about 6:30 am, she was heading home toward Cape Panwa after work when she noticed three men – two men on a blue Honda Wave and a third on a Honda Sonic – following her. As she rode along a stretch of road about three kilometers before the Panwa Beach Resort, the two men on the blue bike sped up and then swerved in front of her, forcing her to stop. The third man pulled up behind her, preventing her from backing up. One of the men from the bike in front walked up to K. Jiemjit and pulled her mobile phone from her shirt pocket. Inside the clear plastic case with the phone was 2,000 baht. Without saying a word, the man returned to the motorbike and the three thieves rode off. K. Jiemjit told police that this was the second time that robbers had tried this ploy on her; the first time she and her husband managed to get away. She also said that she believed the three robbers were from the area because she remembered seeing the two motorbikes earlier, parked near to where she was robbed. Lt Parichat said that police are investigating the robbery, although he said that they had received no previous reports of similar robberies and they had no description of the men.