Video “Sneaky” Swiss thieves set to spend Christmas in Thai jail after airport theft

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Video: “Sneaky” Swiss thieves set to spend Christmas in Thai jail after airport theft

 

 

A Swiss couple who stole a notebook computer from a Thai passenger at Suvarnabhumi airport are set to spend Christmas in jail.

 

The couple identified only as Anna, 56, and Romano 61, were arrested over a week ago in connection with the theft of the notebook, reportedly worth 40,000 baht.

 

The couple stole the notebook when they arrived in Thailand in October and police arrested them when they tried to board a plane home on November 24th after being recognised by airport security staff.

 

Initially the pair said they were innocent and denied involvement in the theft, but later confessed after police searched their luggage and found the notebook inside one of their bags. Officers also showed the couple CCTV footage of the incident.

 

 

The footage shows the woman sitting next to the notebook which had been left unattended by its Thai owner. 

 

The woman can then be seen appearing to cover the notebook with her jacket before walking off with her husband.

 

The owner of the laptop told police that when he returned he found only an empty box and that his notebook was stolen.

 

A report by Thai news station Channel 3 branded the couple “sneaky”.

 

The couple, who were charged with theft, have bemoaned the fact that they look set to spend Christmas in jail.

 

Speaking to Swiss media the couple said they do not expect to leave until at least January 11th, the date of their court hearing.

 

They described the incident as a “stupid story”.

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-12-04

[Coconutman]

Have fun and scarry christmas

[isaanbanhou]

The couple will get to avoid all the snow and yodelling of Switzerland for at least another 5 weeks.  While they might not get much of a tan, I'm sure they will lose a little weight while guests of the Thai government.  Nice Catch Swampy security

[anon789561]

merry christmas you dirty little tea leaves 555 enjoy

[Bluespunk]

35 minutes ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Speaking to  Swiss media the couple said they do not expect to leave until at least January 11th, the date of their court hearing.

They described the incident as a “stupid story”.

Talk about being in denial...

Edited December 4, 2017 by Bluespunk

[darksidedog]

37 minutes ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Speaking to Swiss media the couple said they do not expect to leave until at least January 11th, the date of their court hearing.

Given that theft carries a minimum 1 year sentence, I suspect they might be delayed a little longer than they think. And they deserve it for being such scumbags.

[isaanbanhou]

2 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

While I agree you have to be an idiot to walk off and leave any device behind you, I’m not sure you can gaol someone for being stupid. 

 

For one thing the gaols would be flooded with the guilty. They are overcrowded as it is...

 

I believe gaols are already flooded with the guilty             

[Bluespunk]

Just now, isaanbanhou said:

 

I believe gaols are already flooded with the guilty             

Flooded to a greater depth then. 

[darksidedog]

1 minute ago, isaanbanhou said:

 

I believe gaols are already flooded with the guilty             

The jails are filled with poor people. Those who can't afford bail and couldn't afford to buy the cops off. Rich guilty as we have all seen, don't go to jail. The population of Nong Plalai outside Pattaya is 60% unconvicted on remand, so technically it isn't flooded with proven guilty.

[isaanbanhou]

7 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

The jails are filled with poor people. Those who can't afford bail and couldn't afford to buy the cops off. Rich guilty as we have all seen, don't go to jail. The population of Nong Plalai outside Pattaya is 60% unconvicted on remand, so technically it isn't flooded with proven guilty.

 

I guess they will be comforted by the fact that they are amongst the few that actually deserve their incarceration.  

[darksidedog]

2 minutes ago, isaanbanhou said:

 

I guess they will be comforted by the fact that they are amongst the few that actually deserve their incarceration.  

Yeah! sorry about that, but the vast majority of "guilty" in Thai prisons either pleaded guilty to get a lesser sentence, or were found guilty as they couldn't afford a lawyer. If you don't have money and a lawyer, you cannot fight a charge with a realistic chance of being found not guilty. It reinforces my first point that the prisons are full of poor people, who are not necessarily actually guilty of the charges. The judicial system here is unnaturally harsh and allows those with money to walk away, while penalizing the poor.

[ezzra]

They deserve to going to jail just for their stupidity of trying to

deny the theft while the item is in their luggage, they should have

admits right away, apologies and make amends in money, and maybe

they would have been speared sitting in jail... dumkhoffs...

[YetAnother]

1 hour ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

were arrested over a week ago in connection with the theft of the notebook,

and they are worried about christmas ?! being arrested for theft in a foreign country currently in the spell of ultra conservatism is not trivial

[edwardflory]

I am trying to remember...  is time in a jail ( Court / Prison / Jail documents ) a excuse that Immigration accepts for a overstay ( vs Medical documents ) to leave without paying "overstay" fine?... hummm

Edited December 4, 2017 by edwardflory
more info

[jenny2017]

They described the incident as a “stupid story”.

 

    Special thanks to these idiots! Thais do seem to think that we are all a bunch of thieves. 

 

    Just recently, when I sat at the local hospital waiting for my OPD card when a woman in front of me all in a sudden grabbed her bag and put it on her lap, right after she saw me sitting behind her.

 

     It didn't make me feel good and it's only because of some trashy foreigners who give all of us a bad name. 

[jenny2017]

7 minutes ago, edwardflory said:

I am trying to remember...  is time in a jail ( Court / Prison / Jail documents ) a excuse that Immigration accepts for a overstay ( vs Medical documents ) to leave without paying "overstay" fine?... hummm

Does that somehow matter to you? Let them rot in jail and then deport them on a banana boat to a place where they can't take anything away from others. 

[jenny2017]

9 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

put them in the cell with the traveling butt buddies.

 

next case.

And make sure that the butt buddies will have enough Viagra for the Swiss guys.

[spectrumisgreen]

2 hours ago, JoePai said:

The Thai owner should also be jailed for being so stupid

How stupid can pretty much all the folks involved be? First you're a thief - not good - but stealing something in a very public place with plenty of CCTV cameras watching over the area? Then you go back, try to 'innoccently' pass through said very public place at a later date - okay, you've gotta get home, but shouldn't you have thought about that in the first place, must have brains like a swiss cheese  (whoops, <deleted> em, haha!) - and hope everyone's just forgot, or didn't notice in the first place, yeah? And  THEN there's the owner who left their 40,000 baht laptop unattened, like its a good idea to EVER leave ANYTHING of your valuables unattended!.. not forgetting, of course, that in an airport even a small, apparently innocuous, kit bag could quite rightly removed and destroyed by security as a potential explosive device!!! As you basically say.. lock em ALL up.. maybe these eejits could spend Christmas figuring out how to play games like 'Pass The Parcel' together!!!   

[spectrumisgreen]

1 hour ago, sanemax said:

You dont really believe that, do you ?

I have a feeling that you are exaggerating somewhat 

What you probably mean is that people should take more care of their belongings ? 

(above. re: 'The Thai owner should also be jailed for being so stupid')...

                                                           ...

You have to actually ASK that? Clearly not one for sarcasm, dry wit, or much humour at all then, really, yeah? (For sure, you shouldn't read my own reply to the above, if this is how you mentally process everything you read or hear!!! I mean, <deleted>)...

 

Edited December 4, 2017 by metisdead
Profane acronym removed.

[sanemax]

1 hour ago, spectrumisgreen said:

(above. re: 'The Thai owner should also be jailed for being so stupid')...                                                           ...

You have to actually ASK that? Clearly not one for sarcasm, dry wit, or much humour at all then, really, yeah? (For sure, you shouldn't read my own reply to the above, if this is how you mentally process everything you read or hear!!! I mean, <deleted>)...

 

It wasnt a question as such, it was more of a statement .

Although I did put a question mark at the end, it was one of those questions that you ask, when you already know the answer .

   The "sarcasm, dry wit and humour" didnt come across too well and it wasnt obvious , I still cannot see it myself and it really could have done with a smiley face added, to show that he wasnt being serious .

[holy cow cm]

Yes it is good for Suvarnabhumi airport. I am there every other week and on occasion come across some discretional characters on the prowl. I'm not going to touch or lift anything. So the Swiss got what they deserved.

[473geo]

We all carry an element of trust in others at airports, on planes, all holding passports, wallets/money, tickets/boarding pass etc and other required documentation. I find thefts at airports particularly distasteful as the thieves could well cause great difficulty for travelers. Good catch by the authorities hopefully acts as a deterrent for others. Yes jail time please!

[jenny2017]

Let's hope that their story goes viral to make sure that all neighbors and friends of these scumbags know what they're up to. Thailand takes thieves very seriously and that's good so. 

[Orton Rd]

It's the Swiss that needs to be in inverted commas, looks more middle eastern, if that can still be suggested these days. 

[sanemax]

In the video on the 32 nd second mark, a similar looking guy on the far left of the video, seems to get up and walk away when the thief does , I wonder whether he was an accomplice ?

[helloagain]

3 hours ago, Coconutman said:

Have fun and scarry christmas

1 year jail and a life ban

[Blue Muton]

3 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

While I agree you have to be an idiot to walk off and leave any device behind you, I’m not sure you can gaol someone for being stupid. 

 

For one thing the gaols would be flooded with the guilty. They are overcrowded as it is...

Not to mention that it would decimate the TV community. Whoops, I mentioned it, stupid me.

[KMartinHandyman]

They described the incident as a “stupid story”.
 
    Special thanks to these idiots! Thais do seem to think that we are all a bunch of thieves. 
 
    Just recently, when I sat at the local hospital waiting for my OPD card when a woman in front of me all in a sudden grabbed her bag and put it on her lap, right after she saw me sitting behind her.
 
     It didn't make me feel good and it's only because of some trashy foreigners who give all of us a bad name. 

Maybe but my tw does that with everyone in any country.

[Wilson Smith]

Do not take things that do not belong to you. We should be chasing people down letting them know that they forgot something. 

 

[KMartinHandyman]

Wonder what time it was? Extra charges during darkness would be pretty funny.