Skip to content
View in the app

A better way to browse. Learn more.

Thailand News and Discussion Forum | ASEANNOW

A full-screen app on your home screen with push notifications, badges and more.

To install this app on iOS and iPadOS
  1. Tap the Share icon in Safari
  2. Scroll the menu and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add in the top-right corner.
To install this app on Android
  1. Tap the 3-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser.
  2. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  3. Confirm by tapping Install.

Swiss Man Reports 12.5m Music Collection Theft in Hua Hin

A bedridden Swiss man has appealed for public help after a vinyl and CD collection valued at more than 12.5 million baht disappeared from his home in Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan, with a former Thai caregiver now suspected. Peter Kalt reported that more than 1,000 vinyl records and 400 CDs went missing from a storage room at his property in the Hin Lek Fai subdistrict. He believes the disappearance may have involved someone known to the household.

Get today's headlines by email image.png

The incident is believed to have taken place on May 2, when Kalt’s wife, Brigit, was away from the home attending a massage appointment. Kalt was alone at the residence at the time but said his medical condition left him bedridden and unable to monitor activity around the property. The couple discovered the missing items and filed a theft complaint with police on May 5.

According to Kalt, the collection was built over decades while he lived and worked in Chicago and Switzerland. He estimated its value at around 300,000 Swiss francs, equivalent to approximately 12.5 million baht, though he said the sentimental value of the items was even greater due to their personal significance and rarity.

Police visited the property following the complaint and examined the scene. Investigators also reviewed security camera footage from outside the home. Kalt stated that the footage showed a former female caregiver leaving the property on a motorcycle carrying plastic bags, which officers considered suspicious. He added that police said they knew the identity of the individual seen in the footage.

Kalt said the caregiver had previously been employed through a local nursing company and had experienced financial difficulties. He also claimed she had asked him and his wife for money on several occasions prior to the incident. Despite this, he said he has received no further updates from investigators and is unaware of any new developments in the case.

Frustrated by the lack of progress, Kalt contacted Hua Hin Today on 3 June, to raise public awareness and request assistance in locating the missing collection. He is urging residents, expats and record collectors in Hua Hin to report any attempts to sell rare music collections or unusual large archives of vinyl records and CDs that may match the description.

Wochenblitz reported that he plans to return to Switzerland long-term due to leg complaints, where he expects better treatment. Peter Kalthas lived in Thailand for 11 years and is bedridden and requires care due to a medical complication. He hopes that information will lead to the recovery of his collection and the apprehension of the perpetrator

image.png

Picture courtesy of Wochenblitz

Join the discussion? image.png

Already a member? image.png

image.png Adapted by ASEAN Now Wochenblitz 5 June 2026

User Feedback

Recommended Comments

ballpoint Star Member

ballpoint

Advanced Member
58 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

the first I ever bought was Ernie the milkman by benny hill, I'm open to offers

Why don't we play cards for it? And, just to make it interesting, we'll have a shilling on the side.

Explorator en Action Senior Member

Explorator en Action

Member
On 6/5/2026 at 5:35 PM, Explorator en Action said:

The price of Record Ablums just went down, Flash Sale just around the corner. Agree Insurance, Locks and Video Cameras should have been in place. All kidding aside, I know what its like to lose the things you valued, feel sorry for him. Hopefully some of it will be recovered. Peace

I Thank those who gave me a Thumbs Down from the bottom of my heart, it just proves what I am saying is correct and positive. I changed my avatar especially just for you - in your face positivity. Peace

BerndD Silver Member

BerndD

Advanced Member
39 minutes ago, ballpoint said:

Why don't we play cards for it? And, just to make it interesting, we'll have a shilling on the side.

Gambling is a punishable offense in Thailand! However, state gambling is mandatory!

Bday Prang Star Member

Bday Prang

Advanced Member
1 hour ago, wil iam not said:

But look for the shop specialising in Yodelling music. 5555

its quite catchy actually i cant get it out of my head now

simon43 Star Member

simon43

Advanced Member
46 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

its quite catchy actually i cant get it out of my head now

Drat! I also watched that video and now it's stuck in my head too :)

Patong2021 Diamond Member

Patong2021

Advanced Member
4 hours ago, Sigmund said:

A bit of jealousy in various comments towards the victim.

Jealous of what? No need as most people went digital years ago. Saves space, saves time, more convenient.

NedR69 Silver Member

NedR69

Advanced Member

That's what insurance is for.

Dexxter Silver Member

Dexxter

Advanced Member
On 6/5/2026 at 7:55 PM, Georgealbert said:

1,000 vinyl records and 400 CDs

On 6/5/2026 at 7:55 PM, Georgealbert said:

a former female caregiver leaving the property on a motorcycle carrying plastic bags

That would weigh around 270Kg which is an awfully lot for a woman to take away in a few plastic bags.

On 6/5/2026 at 7:55 PM, Georgealbert said:

Wochenblitz reported that he plans to return to Switzerland long-term due to leg complaints, where he expects better treatment

Sounds like there might be an insurance claim coming up. Easier to take money back to Switzerland than 270Kg or vinyl and CDs.

baansgr Platinum Member

baansgr

Advanced Member
21 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Many CDs will be hanging on cotton or fishing line as ornaments outside various shops!

Or elephant tails

baansgr Platinum Member

baansgr

Advanced Member
8 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

Jealous of what? No need as most people went digital years ago. Saves space, saves time, more convenient.

Not the same sound

Scouse123 Ruby Member

Scouse123

Advanced Member
20 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

Shoulda hoarded collectables rather than crap!

I had nightclubs, I doubt my target audience would have appreciated Mozart.

SiSePuede419 Platinum Member

SiSePuede419

Advanced Member
16 hours ago, Beat666 said:

Tell me, what is so funny about it? How has this anything to do with Swiss Man Reports 12.5m Music Collection Theft in Hua Hin???

You obviously haven't watched that episode of Seinfeld where Kramer takes an old man's record collection into a record store to make some money

And the guy at the store thumbs through them quickly and says these are worthless I can't sell them

In case you are too young to ever have owned an actual long playing record the condition of the record also is a factor

You could have the most rare piece of vinyl ever, but if it's all scratched up it's virtually unlistenable

Then we have warping

Then we have improper storage in high humidity which can cause the sleeves to records to get moldy and well...smell like mold.

Also undesirable on the collector market.

I'm going out on a limb and say THERE'S NO CREDIBLE EVIDENCE FROM A QUALIFIED APPRAISER THAT THE VALUE IS ANYWHERE CLOSE TO THAT NUMBER

I would not pay one satang for a warped scratched record with a moldy sleeve.

It's worthless 🤣

You have no clue what the value of that old man's collection was, sir

[NEEDS EVIDENCE OF VALUE]

SiSePuede419 Platinum Member

SiSePuede419

Advanced Member
On 6/5/2026 at 4:55 PM, Georgealbert said:

1,000 vinyl records and 400 CDs

Somebody is not good at math.

Usually simple algebra and looking things up on Google for 10 seconds easily debunks all bullsh$t claims

Assume initially (until proven otherwise) all pieces have equal value

So 12.5 million baht/(1000+400=1400) =

12,500,000/1400 = 8,928.57 per piece

That's $275USD per piece

He bought these records in Hua Hin? Or he transported them in a CARGO HOLD OF AN AIRPLANE THAT HAS NO TEMPERATURE OR HUMIDITY CONTROL

What a maroon living in et-2006631.jpgFantasy Land, 5555

[NEEDS CREDIBLE APPRAISAL]

Andrew Dwyer Ruby Member

Andrew Dwyer

Advanced Member

Wasn’t there a poster on here claiming his music collection is worth US$500k and he is planning to ship it to Texas when he leaves Thailand.

I don’t own a cd, dvd, vinyl or cassette but still manage to feed my music and movie/series tastes adequately.

If i have any regrets about relinquishing my music collection over the years it would boil down to 2 items.

My 1972 version of Jethro Tull’s Thick as a Brick in vinyl for the album cover alone, spent many hours reading that cover as a teenager.

A bootleg cd i bought in South Korea in 1992 just for the spelling mistakes alone.

It was The Best of Eric Crapton ! With Crapton named several times and some songs co-written with Steve Winwood written as Crapton/Windows.

Patong2021 Diamond Member

Patong2021

Advanced Member
5 hours ago, baansgr said:

Not the same sound

Unless the listener has an expensive sound system and speakers, the sound quality is not noticeable. Most people rely on earbuds or basic quality headphones. Even with top end headphones one has to have excellent hearing to pick up the difference. Your Swiss national, if he is anything like other males age 40+, his hearing will have already deteriorated.

rocketboy2 Gold Member

rocketboy2

Advanced Member

12.5 million.

Reckon that is his valuation.

And not current market valuation. coffee1

SiSePuede419 Platinum Member

SiSePuede419

Advanced Member
2 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

I don’t own a cd,

I bought hundreds of CDs in the 80-90s

Almost all are completely unplayable

They're worse than records.

Absolutely worthless to me.

I wouldn't even buy rare Japanese releases for fear of them getting scratched up and unplayable.

And yes, I know the audiophile quality of streaming sucks*

*Exactly the same thing they said about CDs vs vinyl

I'm not an "audiophile" saving me apparently millions of baht buying that worthless junk that can only get stolen or damaged, degraded with humidity and heat or scratched.

Problem solved. 💲

bannork Star Member

bannork

Newsman

I'd didn't take long for the cassettes I brought over from the UK way back to streeeetch in the humidity. Soon unplayable.

SiSePuede419 Platinum Member

SiSePuede419

Advanced Member

Thailand is more a live music place.

By musicians willing to put on a lot of clothes and sweat while they play outside at some bar.

And don't mind 3 different kinds of mosquitos, culex day shift, tigers nightshift and the other kind that carries dengue, indoors.

vangrop Silver Member

vangrop

Advanced Member

These vinyls are mainly English music. I don't see what a Thai could do with that stuff.

The estimated value given by the Swiss is largely exaggerated. An vinyl would be worth around 50€. Which makes total value excluding the cd's around 50.000€ or something like 1.900.000 bath. My guess is that some western people organised this theft. You ship it by container to Europ and sell it there. It would generate a nice profit and you won't have the same risks as you would have with narcotic business. If controled you could claim it's your private collection. In conclusion, I am practically certain that the culprits are Westerners who knew the Swiss man and were aware of his collection. He should investigate within his circle of acquaintances. This, of course, assumes the collection is not insured; in that case, it could be an attempt to defraud the insurers. What could also explain why he overrated the value.

Woke to Sounds Gold Member

Woke to Sounds

Advanced Member

Things you own end up owning you.

Buy experiences, not tings.

SiSePuede419 Platinum Member

SiSePuede419

Advanced Member

Never had anything stolen here in Thailand

Nobody has broke into my home in America in over 20 years

But things have changed in America

Since COVID-19 criminals have gotten much more brazen wrt theft, both retail and home break-ins.

Someone broke into my house and stole my shotgun value $150

Thankfully it ended up in the hands of LEO ("asset forfeiture") thanks to the ineptitude of the thieves and is now safe in some vault somewhere waiting to be sold at auction so they can buy more militarized goodies for themselves.

One of my neighbors told me that it's been quiet since "Squiggly" and "Yo-yo" got arrested (not their real names, obviously) so I presume these were small time drug addicts burgularizing homes of the "elite" (me), 555

Welcome to Reality! Not going to affect me that much, stupid methheads ain't gonna change my way of life.

However it could get interesting if I have to evict some lazy bums who don't want to work, I mean ingenious individuals making use of unused housing resources.

You know, "squatters" 😃

fredwiggy Star Member

fredwiggy

Advanced Member
18 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Wasn’t there a poster on here claiming his music collection is worth US$500k and he is planning to ship it to Texas when he leaves Thailand.

I don’t own a cd, dvd, vinyl or cassette but still manage to feed my music and movie/series tastes adequately.

If i have any regrets about relinquishing my music collection over the years it would boil down to 2 items.

My 1972 version of Jethro Tull’s Thick as a Brick in vinyl for the album cover alone, spent many hours reading that cover as a teenager.

A bootleg cd i bought in South Korea in 1992 just for the spelling mistakes alone.

It was The Best of Eric Crapton ! With Crapton named several times and some songs co-written with Steve Winwood written as Crapton/Windows.

That would be me. I put that price on the CD's worth being $10 USD each average. Many of them are burned, which costs about that much, and many CD's I bought, which cost up to twice that or more.

They are only worth it as a collection to myself, as you would have to find another collector to pay more than a dollar or two, which is what Half Price Book stores would pay you, and resell them for $6 or so. Many are out of print now, and a few rare, so they would bring a higher price, again to a collector. All the CD's I've listened to have worked fine, including the older ones.

I will put them in a boat and ship them back to Texas when we're ready to leave, as they are a collection I like to listen to, old school I guess you could say. That's how I brought them here. I actually sold an 11K cassette collection before I moved here, and I should have kept those, even though they aren't really used anymore.

This man likely was robbed by westerners, like another mentioned, so they could ship them somewhere to sell, or locals who thought they could sell them here, which would be impossible.

thailand49 Ruby Member

thailand49

Advanced Member
On 6/5/2026 at 5:58 PM, save the frogs said:

the value of his collection seems exaggerated except if he a ton of rare collectibles maybe? value seems crazy to me.

I agree although they are coming back tough to imigine, I have this guy here in Thailand he left behind boxes of albums placed in an environmental friendly storage 30,000 baht a month, his family haul a few boxes to a dealer to have them examined out of one box 50 albums 1, was worth something.

Here, he shipped over 30 metal cases of CD now in storage in my house I've yet to open remove them and check if if millions of baht I might take time?

But even the they are worth something curious in Thailand who is going to buy?

Also here in Thailand, he has an music system, speaker 3 feet high, I took photos of equipment, make, consignment noted 900,000 baht year and a half yet to hear the phone ring LOL!

At time value? Up to you LOL

AdamRich Senior Member

AdamRich

Member

Maybe that is what he paid for it in the days that vinyl and CDs were a thing, but that is certainly not what it is worth in the digital age. Nobody is going to give him even 1 million for that archaic junk.

Georgealbert Star Member

Georgealbert

News Team

UPDATE

Thai Caretaker Arrested Over Record Theft in Hua Hin

yang123 Advanced Member

yang123

Member

If - only if - the collection was of Northern Soul, its value is under-estimated. Classics of the genre easily fetch USD 200 per disc. The highest price paid at auction is GBP 25,742 for an unreleased 1965 Motown single.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/8028719.stm

Explorator en Action Senior Member

Explorator en Action

Member
On 6/6/2026 at 8:48 AM, Purdey said:

I have a collection of vinyl records but playing them is difficult as the heat stretches the rubber turntable band.

There is a lot of heartache when they are there but unplayed. I guess seeing someone walking off with them feels worse.

My turntable is a TEAC direct drive, no bands, pricey but worth it in long run. Peace

ChipButty Star Member

ChipButty

Advanced Member
On 6/13/2026 at 12:29 PM, yang123 said:

If - only if - the collection was of Northern Soul, its value is under-estimated. Classics of the genre easily fetch USD 200 per disc. The highest price paid at auction is GBP 25,742 for an unreleased 1965 Motown single.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/8028719.stm

First, your link isn't working but I'm guessing you are referring to Frank Wilson? if so there was only ever two copies made of that record, My record collection is worth an absolute fortune it is all back in the UK, my daughter has it,

My first LP was Stevie Wonder "Place in the Sun" it was mono, I saw him at the Twisted Wheel in Manchester and Belle Vue back i the 60'S, then were the days,

Sir Dude Gold Member

Sir Dude

Advanced Member

Hope the thief gets what they deserve as it's really low robbing a disable bed-ridden man that employed you to help out... blimey.

Create an account or sign in to comment

Account

Navigation

Search

Search

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.