Overdrawn: Bungling burglar caught cracking into bank in Phuket
Police yesterday apprehended a man after he attempted to break into a bank branch and managed to forcibly open a passbook updating machine in Baan Lipon, Srisoonthorn, Phuket.
An automatic security alarm alerted the police to the break-in at the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives in Baan Lipon, Moo 7, Srisoonthorn, at 11pm. Thalang police responded promptly, arriving to find the passbook updating machine at the front of the bank had been tampered with.
Police also discovered evidence of an attempted break-in on the building’s side window lock and signs of cutting on the bathroom ventilation grille. CCTV footage captured clear images of the suspect, including the direction in which he fled.
Shortly after, Thalang Police received a report from locals about a man behaving suspiciously in front of a house. Upon arrival, officers identified the individual as the same person seen on the bank’s CCTV footage, reported Phuket News.
The suspect, identified as 19 year old Apirak Kongpan, was taken into custody and brought to Thalang Police Station for questioning. Police have confirmed that Apirak will face charges for his actions.
In related news, a foreign tourist broke into a Bangkok Bank branch in Pai in the northern province of Mae Hong Son last year. He smashed his way through several glass doors with rocks and proceeded to cause significant damage to the bank’s property. Police detained him and discovered he was illegally residing in the kingdom.
A foreigner named Kent Douglas Meades, nationality unknown, smashed his way into Pai’s Bangkok Bank at around 7pm. He destroyed two glass safety doors at the entrance of the bank, four more glass doors, three computer screens, two desk partitions and one printer.
A passerby filmed the man retrieving rocks from his motorbike and throwing them at the bank but didn’t dare intervene out of fear of the man’s violent and bizarre behaviour.
