Englishman Robbed Of Half A Million Baht From His.....

[libya 115]

SOURCE: Pattaya City News: February 19th 2007

English Tourist robbed of nearly 500,000 Baht in cash.

Mr. James Short aged 35 from England along with his partner, Khun Supat aged 25 made their way to Pattaya Police Station on Friday Night to report a theft from their apartment.

The pair resides at an Apartment complex in Soi 17, South Pattaya and returned back to their room on this night to find the place had been ransacked and items of value had been stolen. 196,000 Baht in cash, a mobile phone and 3,200 Pounds Sterling had been taken.

They explained that their room can only be accessed by a Key Card and the Thai money had only been withdrawn a few hours before the theft. Finger prints have been taken from the scene but for now, with no witnesses, Police have few clues as to the identity of the thief of thieves.

We can only repeat our advice given a few days ago, to ensure that all valuable items must be kept in a safe and secure location otherwise this could very well be you sitting at the Police Station in the future.

[Pattaya_Fox]

SOURCE: Pattaya City News: February 19th 2007

English Tourist robbed of nearly 500,000 Baht in cash.

Mr. James Short aged 35 from England along with his partner, Khun Supat aged 25 made their way to Pattaya Police Station on Friday Night to report a theft from their apartment.

The pair resides at an Apartment complex in Soi 17, South Pattaya and returned back to their room on this night to find the place had been ransacked and items of value had been stolen. 196,000 Baht in cash, a mobile phone and 3,200 Pounds Sterling had been taken.

They explained that their room can only be accessed by a Key Card and the Thai money had only been withdrawn a few hours before the theft. Finger prints have been taken from the scene but for now, with no witnesses, Police have few clues as to the identity of the thief of thieves.

We can only repeat our advice given a few days ago, to ensure that all valuable items must be kept in a safe and secure location otherwise this could very well be you sitting at the Police Station in the future.

I suppose that he had his own reasons for having such a large amount of cash in the apartment.............but would have been better to keep it in the bank.

[jasreeve17]

I do feel sorry for the guy who had his money stolen. Two points:-

1) Why did he have over 3,000 pounds in cash - not from the Thai bank I wouldn't have thought. If I have more than a couple of hundred pounds, then I exchange it all into travellers cheques. It may not be the cheapest form of taking money, but for the ease and security I very much advise people to go this route. (I sleep soundly on the plane with several thousand pounds of travellers cheques in my bum bag. Numbers on my hotmail and repeated to my brother.)

2) Why would you goto the bank, withdraw a significant quantity of money, then leave it at your apartment and go out?

I hate crime, and criminals. At the same time, it's a fact of life and we must make sensible decissions.

[GuestHouse]

Every Farang that leaves this kind of money laying around/carries this kind of money around and thenn gets robbed is a big blazing advert to rob the rest of us.

So, sorry for him, yes.

But he's not only been robbed himself, he's undoubtedly raised the chances of someone esle being up down the line.

[farangsay]

SOURCE: Pattaya City News: February 19th 2007

English Tourist robbed of nearly 500,000 Baht in cash.

Mr. James Short aged 35 from England along with his partner, Khun Supat aged 25 made their way to Pattaya Police Station on Friday Night to report a theft from their apartment.

The pair resides at an Apartment complex in Soi 17, South Pattaya and returned back to their room on this night to find the place had been ransacked and items of value had been stolen. 196,000 Baht in cash, a mobile phone and 3,200 Pounds Sterling had been taken.

They explained that their room can only be accessed by a Key Card and the Thai money had only been withdrawn a few hours before the theft. Finger prints have been taken from the scene but for now, with no witnesses, Police have few clues as to the identity of the thief of thieves.

We can only repeat our advice given a few days ago, to ensure that all valuable items must be kept in a safe and secure location otherwise this could very well be you sitting at the Police Station in the future.

Interesting turn of phrase. Just poor English on the reporters part ?

[Briggsy]

It was his missus!

[britmaveric]

Insurance Scam?

[Briggsy]

Hold on! Supat's a bloke's name.

[jasreeve17]

Hold on! Supat's a bloke's name.

Come on Briggsy, you know what "partner" means in this context. And it was in the first sentence...

Edited February 19, 2007 by jasreeve17

[Briggsy]

Hold on! Supat's a bloke's name.

Come on Briggsy, you know what "partner" means in this context. And it was in the first sentence...

I know, I foolishly missed it when making post 6.

[jasreeve17]

Hold on! Supat's a bloke's name.

Come on Briggsy, you know what "partner" means in this context. And it was in the first sentence...

I know, I foolishly missed it when making post 6.

I'd say "he's going home to shag the missus", if a couple of nice gentlemen, who are romantically engaged together, were going home for sex. You could have got away with it if you'd kept quiet - Thai style!

Edited February 19, 2007 by jasreeve17

[gummy]

The quote "Thai money had only been withdrawn a few hours before the theft." 196k ? what bank is that with that higher limit ? the most I know of is 40k limit per day by a cashcard which means he must have made multiple withdrawals for whatever reason or he went into a bank for a cash withdrawal, unlikely that as a tourist he would have a Thai bank account isn't it ? . As for an insurance scam very unlikely as he was a tourist and hence must assume he would have holiday insurance. He would be lucky to get cover for more than £500 in cash let alone 196k baht plus 3k sterling. Maybe just a compulsive lier to impress his pals and "partner"

[Briggsy]

Hold on! Supat's a bloke's name.

Come on Briggsy, you know what "partner" means in this context. And it was in the first sentence...

I know, I foolishly missed it when making post 6.

I'd say "he's going home to shag the missus", if a couple of nice gentlemen, who are romantically engaged together, were going home for sex. You could have got away with it if you'd kept quiet - Thai style!

I'm far too honest for my own good.

[Briggsy]

The quote "Thai money had only been withdrawn a few hours before the theft." 196k ? what bank is that with that higher limit ? the most I know of is 40k limit per day by a cashcard which means he must have made multiple withdrawals for whatever reason or he went into a bank for a cash withdrawal, unlikely that as a tourist he would have a Thai bank account isn't it ? . As for an insurance scam very unlikely as he was a tourist and hence must assume he would have holiday insurance. He would be lucky to get cover for more than £500 in cash let alone 196k baht plus 3k sterling. Maybe just a compulsive lier to impress his pals and "partner"

There are no compulsive liars in Pattaya

Col. "Mad Dog" Briggsy, ex-SAS, ex-MI5 (high clearance div.), BA (Oxon.)

Soi Yamato

Edited February 19, 2007 by Briggsy

[ollyrosee]

there are eyes and ears everywhere waiting for a piece of info and ready to pounce if your back is turned for a second. no wonder so many people carry their valuables around with them on the sois. But that doesnt work either !

[wpcoe]

...unlikely that as a tourist he would have a Thai bank account isn't it ? . As for an insurance scam very unlikely as he was a tourist and hence must assume he would have holiday insurance. He would be lucky to get cover for more than £500 in cash let alone 196k baht plus 3k sterling. Maybe just a compulsive lier to impress his pals and "partner"

The article said "The pair resides at an Apartment complex in Soi 17..." so he maybe was a resident and could well have had a Thai bank account.

[Nam Plah]

Perhaps he is simply a scammer just looking to take advantage of the new relief fund (See below).

"New Emergency Tourist Relief Fund announced by Provincial Governor. At the Garden Seaview Resort in Naklua, Khun Prachar, the Governor of Chonburi Province who was joined by Khun Niran, the Mayor of Pattaya and other local dignitaries, officially launched a Tourist Emergency Relief Fund which is the brainchild of the Pattaya City Administration. The fund will be used if Tourists become the victims of crime or theft. If they require hospitalization or lose items of value, the fund which currently has a balance of 1,032,000 Baht will decide case-by-case whether to compensate the tourist. The fund committee which is in the process of being set-up, will be responsible for the fund according to details released in this press conference. Khun Prachar, addressed those who attended and mentioned that in 2006 a total of 6,056,391 Tourists of Thai and foreign origin came to Pattaya and generated an estimated income of over 50 Billion Baht. For this reason and to promote tourism in 2007, this unique Tourist Emergency Relief Fund has been set up and is now in operation. "

Taken from Pattaya City News.

[farangsay]

The quote "Thai money had only been withdrawn a few hours before the theft." 196k ? what bank is that with that higher limit ? the most I know of is 40k limit per day by a cashcard which means he must have made multiple withdrawals for whatever reason or he went into a bank for a cash withdrawal, unlikely that as a tourist he would have a Thai bank account isn't it ? . As for an insurance scam very unlikely as he was a tourist and hence must assume he would have holiday insurance. He would be lucky to get cover for more than £500 in cash let alone 196k baht plus 3k sterling. Maybe just a compulsive lier to impress his pals and "partner"

There are no compulsive liars in Pattaya

Col. "Mad Dog" Briggsy, ex-SAS, ex-MI5 (high clearance div.), BA (Oxon.)

Soi Yamato

Firstly , the guy probably withdrew the money at the bank counter in

cash. The fact that the bank teller was aware of the amount of money

withdrawn in cash and the guys address is of no import.

Re Col. "Mad Dog" Briggsy's evaluation I remember a line from a le Carre

book (the scene took place in HK) where the police inspector and a reporter

were surveying a butchered corpse.

Reporter "Looks like a triad killing"

Inspector "There are no triads in HK"

Reporter "Well who did that then"

Inspector "Mice"

[libya 115]

I think that there are some tourists who come to Pattaya with large lumps of cash for various reasons.

The reason some victims of robbery might inflate their true loss is not necessarily to do with insurance or claims from the 'tourist fund'; it is because if police eventually catch the robbers, then all cash seized will be returned to the victims, and an unexpected large payday might occur!

There are no compulsive liars in Pattaya

Col. "Mad Dog" Briggsy, ex-SAS, ex-MI5 (high clearance div.), BA (Oxon.)

Soi Yamato

Oxbridge universities award an 'MA' to 'Bachelor's of Arts' automatically.

[Scott]

Cash will always get stolen in Thailand. I've had a lot of money stolen in my various methods of trying to find a good hiding place--well, actually not necessarily a lot--but for me a lot. Here are just a few examples:

1. I kept cash in an old pair of shoes--one day the gardner put on the shoes to go to the shop. Never saw him, the shoes or the money again!

2. Put it on the inside of a suitcase that was kept stored and locked. My roommate lent the suitcase to a friend. Never saw the friend, suitcase or the money again!

3. Put all my money in the bank. That was in 1997. Never saw much of that money again either!

The only place I have every found that you can keep money safely in Thailand (and I am not joking) is in a book. I had a bunch of European foreign currency that I had put in books. When they made the switch the Euro, I remembered having put some Marks in a book and went looking. I found a lot of different currencies that I had stashed over the years. All in plain site, sitting for anyone and everyone to get--but no one here ever looks in a book!! (Might not want to put it in a cartoon book, however.

[jasreeve17]

Cash will always get stolen in Thailand. I've had a lot of money stolen in my various methods of trying to find a good hiding place--well, actually not necessarily a lot--but for me a lot. Here are just a few examples:

1. I kept cash in an old pair of shoes--one day the gardner put on the shoes to go to the shop. Never saw him, the shoes or the money again!

2. Put it on the inside of a suitcase that was kept stored and locked. My roommate lent the suitcase to a friend. Never saw the friend, suitcase or the money again!

3. Put all my money in the bank. That was in 1997. Never saw much of that money again either!

The only place I have every found that you can keep money safely in Thailand (and I am not joking) is in a book. I had a bunch of European foreign currency that I had put in books. When they made the switch the Euro, I remembered having put some Marks in a book and went looking. I found a lot of different currencies that I had stashed over the years. All in plain site, sitting for anyone and everyone to get--but no one here ever looks in a book!! (Might not want to put it in a cartoon book, however.

Sorry if this comes our wrongly, but you seem slightly eccentric. Putting money in books, old shoes and doing a Thaksin (money in suitcases!)...

I just change my cash to travellers cheques before I travel and I've never had anything stolen. Or the other alternative is a bank. If you're worried about some kind of problem with a Thai bank, then use HSBC, or similar.

Easy.

I have a great uncle who hides money everywhere. I recall a time in Istanbul, when he found a hole in the wall (not an atm) behind the apartment toilet seat to hide his money...

[esprit]

...unlikely that as a tourist he would have a Thai bank account isn't it ? . As for an insurance scam very unlikely as he was a tourist and hence must assume he would have holiday insurance. He would be lucky to get cover for more than £500 in cash let alone 196k baht plus 3k sterling. Maybe just a compulsive lier to impress his pals and "partner"

The article said "The pair resides at an Apartment complex in Soi 17..." so he maybe was a resident and could well have had a Thai bank account.

The newspaper headline stated it was an "English Tourist etc ... so Gummy was correct

[Little Black Duck]

Makes me wonder when I see Stories like this,

Young Foreigner with large ammout of Money.

Low Security Hotels or Guest House..

Is it thieving from a Thief ????

[Bruprince]

It was his missus!

Probably was.

[vickersvc10]

Cash will always get stolen in Thailand. I've had a lot of money stolen in my various methods of trying to find a good hiding place--well, actually not necessarily a lot--but for me a lot. Here are just a few examples:

1. I kept cash in an old pair of shoes--one day the gardner put on the shoes to go to the shop. Never saw him, the shoes or the money again!

2. Put it on the inside of a suitcase that was kept stored and locked. My roommate lent the suitcase to a friend. Never saw the friend, suitcase or the money again!

3. Put all my money in the bank. That was in 1997. Never saw much of that money again either!

The only place I have every found that you can keep money safely in Thailand (and I am not joking) is in a book. I had a bunch of European foreign currency that I had put in books. When they made the switch the Euro, I remembered having put some Marks in a book and went looking. I found a lot of different currencies that I had stashed over the years. All in plain site, sitting for anyone and everyone to get--but no one here ever looks in a book!! (Might not want to put it in a cartoon book, however.

[johnh101]

Cash will always get stolen in Thailand. I've had a lot of money stolen in my various methods of trying to find a good hiding place--well, actually not necessarily a lot--but for me a lot. Here are just a few examples:

1. I kept cash in an old pair of shoes--one day the gardner put on the shoes to go to the shop. Never saw him, the shoes or the money again!

2. Put it on the inside of a suitcase that was kept stored and locked. My roommate lent the suitcase to a friend. Never saw the friend, suitcase or the money again!

3. Put all my money in the bank. That was in 1997. Never saw much of that money again either!

The only place I have every found that you can keep money safely in Thailand (and I am not joking) is in a book. I had a bunch of European foreign currency that I had put in books. When they made the switch the Euro, I remembered having put some Marks in a book and went looking. I found a lot of different currencies that I had stashed over the years. All in plain site, sitting for anyone and everyone to get--but no one here ever looks in a book!! (Might not want to put it in a cartoon book, however.

My wife had that idea...once !

One day I decided to clear out alot of my old books and it was only the honesty of the girl in the Bookstore above Tops that saved the day !

[Couthy]

My wife had that idea...once !

One day I decided to clear out alot of my old books and it was only the honesty of the girl in the Bookstore above Tops that saved the day !

I lived with a girl in Aberdeen once who was a research chemist -boffin.

IQ in the stratosphere somewhere.....

When we decided to buy a place together and were lifting her carpets we found about 1500 quid that

she'd stashed over the years and completely forgotten about.

We had a good long weekend!.

[Prakanong]

A hel_l of a lot of guys work in "Cash" only business's then come to Thailand on extended breaks - I have known a few of them bring quite a bit of cash.

I have brought in 3000GBP+ but its gone straight in the room safe and a couple of hundred a day taken out.

I used to do only TC's for the safety and security but now its only ATM's with cash for the first day.

[suiging]

Maybe the lad was about to "buy" something and the folk who turned up to "sell" thought naaaaaaa we'll just take the money instead. We will never know.

[Robski]

It was his missus!

Should have hidden it under the soap then.