Thai man loses diamond ring in Phuket EDM festival, ruining proposal plan
A Thai man lost a diamond ring worth about 300,000 baht and multiple credit cards to a pickpocket at an EDM music festival in Phuket on Saturday, January 17, shattering his plan to propose to his girlfriend.
The victim’s girlfriend shared details of the incident on her Facebook account, Acare Alice, yesterday, January 18. The theft reportedly occurred during the fireworks show at Electric Daisy Carnival music festival in Phuket.
According to the woman, her boyfriend prepared the ring and planned to stage a romantic proposal at a designated proposal photo spot inside the festival. The couple had only just arrived at the event when the pickpocket happened.
She explained that a foreign man, suspected to be from an Arabian country, forcefully bumped into her boyfriend twice, nearly causing him to stumble. At the time, neither of them thought much of the encounter. However, moments later, her boyfriend began receiving multiple notifications from his banks.
The alerts showed that money was withdrawn from his credit cards, with the total losses exceeding 300,000 baht. The transactions were reportedly made in United Arab Emirates Dirham (AED). He immediately checked his chest bag and discovered that it was unzipped.
The stolen items included a Louis Vuitton wallet, nine credit cards, 2,500 baht in cash, and a diamond ring worth around 300,000 baht. The woman said the ring carried strong sentimental value, as it was meant to be used for their marriage proposal.
The couple stressed that they were not intoxicated, noting that they had not yet consumed any alcohol at the event. Later, they were contacted by another festivalgoer who said the man’s identification card and driving licence were found abandoned on the ground near the scene of the incident.
The victims filed a complaint with Cherng Talay Police Station and said they planned to coordinate with the festival’s organisers to review additional CCTV footage in an effort to identify the suspect.
The woman added that while at the police station, she met several other attendees who also reported stolen valuables from the same event. Many of them discovered that their credit cards was likewise used for withdrawals in AED, leading victims to suspect that the perpetrators may be nationals from the United Arab Emirates.
Police have not yet confirmed the suspects’ nationalities and have not released further updates on the investigation.
