Suspect Caught Following Theft Of 50,000 Baht's Worth

[libya 115]

SOURCE: Pattaya One News: July 22nd 2008

Suspect caught following theft of 50,000 Baht’s worth of hose attachments from the Royal Garden Plaza.

On Monday Evening, Police Colonel Nopadon, the Chief of Pattaya Police held a press conference at Pattaya Police Station to announce the arrest of Khun Kronkarn aged 26 who was caught stealing brass hose attachments from the Royal Garden Plaza in South Pattaya.

CCTV images confirmed the theft which was spotted by alert security guards. The suspect managed to escape but left a back bag containing the brass hose attachments and a key to a motorbike which was located in the underground car park.

Further brass fire hose attachments were found under the seat of the motorbike. Police were called and a search for the man took place. Some officers remained at the motorbike and one hour after the man escaped, he came back for his bike and was duly arrested.

He was caught with 50,000 Baht’s worth of attachments and was charged with theft at the Stationhouse where it was also revealed that the suspect had just been released from Prison where he served time relating to class 1 drug charges.

Khun Kronkarn confessed to the theft and claimed he was forced back into a life of crime as he had no money and no hope of gaining employment because of his criminal past.

Photograph courtesy of Pattaya One News

Keep you eyes on your hosepipe and fittings or this man will grab them.

[libya 115]

This news report is more detailed and tells of how the thief stole the brass ring-pieces:

SOURCE: Pattaya Daily News: July 22nd 2008

THIEF OF BRASS FIRE-HOSE CONNECTORS ARRESTED

Enterprising thieves, not satisfied with ripping off electrical power cables, have now started to steal the brass connections of fire-hoses in Pattaya. However, one such thief was caught in the act, on July 21, 2008, by CCTV footage, and this just one week after his being released from jail for Yah Bah (amphetamine) offences. It was not his lucky day!

At 9 pm, on July 21, Pol.Col.Nopadol Wongnom, Pattaya Superintendent, was notified by Mr. Sunan Duang-kota, (32), the Head of Security at Royal Garden Plaza Shopping Mall, Pattaya Beach Road, that he had apprehended a thief who had stolen fire-hose brass connectors from fire-boxes in the mall.

When police arrived at Royal Garden Plaza they found the suspect, Mr. Krongkarn Tumben (26), from Patumthani province, in possession of a brown backpack, a blue and black Honda Wave motorbike with no license plates and 2 helmets. He was accused of stealing 11 brass giants off fire-hoses and four 25 kg. brass connectors, worth about Bt50,000, which had been found in his backpack.

Mr. Sunan, told police that at around 5.30 pm, he had been informed by Mr. Sonjai, one of the security men, that the brass giants and connectors of fire-hoses, installed in Car Park B and the toilets on the 1st and 2nd floors had been stolen. However, the Thai male suspect had run away in the direction of the beach. Searching a backpack that was left under the staircase of car park B, Security found brass giants and connections inside and kept them as evidence.

Further searching the backpack, Security also found a motorbike key, belonging to the suspect, and a parking ticket for the motorbike, which was parked at car park B. Security went to the motorbike and found yet more brass giants and connectors hidden under the motorbike seat. Reviewing CCTV footage, Security detected the photo of the suspect and all the mall security men were immediately informed to keep a look out for the man. Security also notified Pol.Col.Nopadol Wongnom of the theft and asked that he provide patrol officers to help catch the suspect, when he returned to pick up his motorbike.

After an hour, Mr. Krongkarn, the suspect, came back for his motorbike and was duly arrested. He confessed that he had stolen the brass giants and connectors from the mall to sell them by the weight to a shop to get money to treat his sick son. Checking to see if Mr. Krongkarn had a criminal record, police discovered that he had recently been in jail for 10 months, charged with possessing Yah Bah and had been out of jail for only about a week. He claimed that he had no job and had decided to steal the brass giants and connectors on the spur of the moment.

However, Mr. Sunan, the head of security, did not buy his story, believing that Mr. Krongkarn had stolen the brass giants from the mall on an earlier occasion, as 10 of them had recently gone missing without trace. The shopping mall had been forced to replace them in order to remain legal.

Pol.Col.Nopadol Wongnom, declared that "Some might think that the theft is a small matter, but stealing giants from the fire-hoses of the shopping mall where there are many Thai locals and tourists coming to shop is extremely hazardous. In the event of fire and the fire-hoses were not working, then it would cause considerable loss of life and property." He would like to ask all the security at the shopping mall to keep a wary eye open for such thefts and prevent them recurring. Police charged Mr. Krongkarn with "Stealing property and attempting to use a vehicle to escape."

Edited July 22, 2008 by libya 115

[eefoo]

"He was accused of stealing 11 brass giants off fire-hoses and four 25 kg. brass connectors, worth about Bt50,000, which had been found in his backpack."

That's some backpack!!

[Chang_paarp]

"He was accused of stealing 11 brass giants off fire-hoses and four 25 kg. brass connectors, worth about Bt50,000, which had been found in his backpack."

That's some backpack!!

It is easy to see why he left it under the stairs and decided not to carry it around.

I suppose he did some weight training in prison to get ready for this new venture.