Samui: Bag Stolen While On Motorbike

[euroeuro]

Last night, between Big Buddha and Choeng Mon, we had a bag theft. We were 3 motorbikes in a row, not going to fast as 2 of them where first timers. Going back home from Chaweng to our house between Big Buddha and Choeng Mon.

Since Chaweng a Thai individual followed us, staying behind, even with our slow pace. Just before turning right near Wat Plai Laem, when all motorbikes where kind of stopped, he attacked. Must have used something like a knife to cut the straps of the bag and got away with it.

Luckily no personal injuries. Just an annoying bag theft (wallet: cash and cards). Is this common practice?

Also a pair of house-keys were in the bag. Should I ignore this, or change the locks of the house? I tried to look out, but did not see anyone following us. No adress or whatsoever was in the bag.

Will go to tourist police today to report the bag stolen.

[JONTY]

saw the same thing ring road outside tesco chaweng over in a flash, lady walking towards big c 2 motorbikes going the opposite way they were gone in flash, yet another tourist who wont come back again these scum give Samui a bad name

[PoorSucker]

Happens to the locals as well.

[motocrosser]

best bet is to put bag down by legs and not on your shoulder,i have seen a thai lady have the same thing done to her and she came off bike.

[rocketmanbkk]

Thieves are everywhere.

While on holiday with my Thai wife in 2001 on Samui I was swimming in the sea at Chewang just outside our hotel. Anyway, my wife was buying food and I left my wallet in my hat! Big mistake, I then saw a chase ongoing and i swam/ran to see what was going on when the young man from the hotel lept over sunbeds and rugby tackled a beach vendor (female) to the sand.

She has taken my wallet and made her escape, throwing my wallet away which was seen by the young chap, all she took was 200 baht as I had no cash but plenty of credit cards!

The police came and she was taken to jail.

Well, about 3 months later when we were in the UK living our neice called to say that the police wanted to speak to my wife as the woman was still in jail! She called back and when we returned that July we went to see the police and she was still 'banged up'.

Her husband came to see us and offered us some cash to ask the police to release her (we declined). All in all she got 2 years in jail for this theft!

All for 200 hundred baht. She was married with kids.

Very harsh but I bet she never stole again.

[samuicanuk]

yes, very common on Samui, many thieves and mafia

[BigC]

saw the same thing ring road outside tesco chaweng over in a flash, lady walking towards big c 2 motorbikes going the opposite way they were gone in flash, yet another tourist who wont come back again these scum give Samui a bad name

just the clear i am Big C and i am not a bag snatcher but this is a common style of crim out here in the land of the smiles. speacially for people that wear thai style gold chains. be careful as i have seen before. 2 on a bike. lady on the back man on front. come up behinde a thai lady grabed the chain off her neck and speed of and they all lost there balance and crashed. luckily for my mates good driving had he not reacted so quick they would have been under his car.

the thai gold chains are not very well linked together. which makes it very easy

1 to full off your neck because it comes loose

2 get snatched

thai gold is about 96.6 % pure so it is quite attractive to theives.

[BigC]

Thieves are everywhere.

While on holiday with my Thai wife in 2001 on Samui I was swimming in the sea at Chewang just outside our hotel. Anyway, my wife was buying food and I left my wallet in my hat! Big mistake, I then saw a chase ongoing and i swam/ran to see what was going on when the young man from the hotel lept over sunbeds and rugby tackled a beach vendor (female) to the sand.

She has taken my wallet and made her escape, throwing my wallet away which was seen by the young chap, all she took was 200 baht as I had no cash but plenty of credit cards!

The police came and she was taken to jail.

Well, about 3 months later when we were in the UK living our neice called to say that the police wanted to speak to my wife as the woman was still in jail! She called back and when we returned that July we went to see the police and she was still 'banged up'.

Her husband came to see us and offered us some cash to ask the police to release her (we declined). All in all she got 2 years in jail for this theft!

All for 200 hundred baht. She was married with kids.

Very harsh but I bet she never stole again.

why u not let her go and pay the mafia to give her a heavy slapp on the wristes. less harsh bruses heal within a few weeks months. 2 years is a bit nasty.

the mafia don't really like theives either. well depends what the definition of mafia is. well the local people don't like theives as this is where they were born and they don't want outsiders. thai or forangs to take the busicuit.

[Rooo]

Big C, I tried to read your post aloud, the way you have written it. My wife asked if I was reading German.

[itishothere]

"Also a pair of house-keys were in the bag. Should I ignore this, or change the locks of the house?"

If, as you say, there was no address in the bag, then you should be OK. BUT .... unlikely, BUT ... they may have followed you or seen you around and thought they may get lucky to find your house. As I say unlikely, but for the cost of a new lock, the peace of mind you get will be worth it.

(Sadly today, here and anywhere else, if a thief wants to get into your house, they don't really need the front door key. )

[BigC]

"Also a pair of house-keys were in the bag. Should I ignore this, or change the locks of the house?"

If, as you say, there was no address in the bag, then you should be OK. BUT .... unlikely, BUT ... they may have followed you or seen you around and thought they may get lucky to find your house. As I say unlikely, but for the cost of a new lock, the peace of mind you get will be worth it.

(Sadly today, here and anywhere else, if a thief wants to get into your house, they don't really need the front door key. )

better off with a pad lock. i am paranoid and old tenant might brake in with a spare cut key. so i have both a pad lock and a key. pad locks arew allo easir to change

[BigC]

"Also a pair of house-keys were in the bag. Should I ignore this, or change the locks of the house?"

If, as you say, there was no address in the bag, then you should be OK. BUT .... unlikely, BUT ... they may have followed you or seen you around and thought they may get lucky to find your house. As I say unlikely, but for the cost of a new lock, the peace of mind you get will be worth it.

(Sadly today, here and anywhere else, if a thief wants to get into your house, they don't really need the front door key. )

do u drive the same motor bike. with the same number plate. is so they might follow you to your house. small islands. see same bikes cars everyday.

go for pad lock. and if u can get your thai wife if she is thai to get a gun licence. register it to your address. make sure that u have the write to protect your poperty gun liscence. problem is they the gun needs to be registered to a local. at least from suratthani. if u get a gun liscence off the island then make sure you change the address on the paper to your samui address or you could get in more trouble than the theif. think you can also make them mutly province. best off speaking to a lawyer.

roo i am not german maybe in a past life. 1 world cup and all that.. do dar

[BigC]

zee germans.. where??? don't shoot

[thachana]

whats with handbags anyway.just advertising your carrying personel items,bumbag plain and simple,thachana

[itishothere]

whats with handbags anyway.just advertising your carrying personel items,bumbag plain and simple,thachana

Did the OP say it was a handbag??

Bum bags also advertise you are carrying personal items.

They are on your bum, which in my case is behind me, and not easily seen in my experience.

If thieves want your personal stuff, they will find a way to get it!

[BigC]

agree a bag is a bag. doesn't matter where it is. though if a lady has hbag barely hanging off her houlder with the zip open. then they are making themselves an easy target.

my expeience with thieves is the harder u make it for them the more likely they are to do someone else

if u want you can make a decoy. if u r a lady u could put all your valuables under the bike seat and get a old crappy had bag with really sinky cheese and rotten apples and maybe poo. then make yourself a target. then som nomb nar to mr Tea leaf

Edited February 16, 2010 by BigC

[womblejamie]

A female friend of mine was riding on the back of someone's motorbike when she saw two cute Thai guys (how she described them, not me) smiling at her riding alongside them. She cooed back and waved, they then moved in and the pillion cut her handbag strap and they were gone. This was on the lake road not far from the police station...

[t.s]

drive a car or change islands, problem solved

[carmine]

Big C, I tried to read your post aloud, the way you have written it. My wife asked if I was reading German.

Possibly espiranto?

[carmine]

"Also a pair of house-keys were in the bag. Should I ignore this, or change the locks of the house?"

If, as you say, there was no address in the bag, then you should be OK. BUT .... unlikely, BUT ... they may have followed you or seen you around and thought they may get lucky to find your house. As I say unlikely, but for the cost of a new lock, the peace of mind you get will be worth it.

(Sadly today, here and anywhere else, if a thief wants to get into your house, they don't really need the front door key. )

better off with a pad lock. i am paranoid and old tenant might brake in with a spare cut key. so i have both a pad lock and a key. pad locks arew allo easir to change

,,,,and exploding bananas if my memory serves me correct

[SeanMoran]

Thieves are drawn to tourist areas, simply because it's more profitable to locate any business venture in the vicinity of the customer. Anywhere in the world, touristy areas are the natural places to go for honest thieves who might not want to rob their family and friends back home, so the take advantage of strangers, and that is where strangers tend to be - around holiday resorts and tourist areas.

Buy a cheap little backpack from Tesco Lotus for 200 baht and strap it to your bike, either on the tank or in the space between your knees, and what doesn't go in your pocket goes in the rucksack strapped to the chassis of the bike. It would take all kinds of traffical mayhem to cut four different straps off a bike, but don't expect a handbag hanging off your shoulder not to be a fair target in a tourist town.