Burglary In My House This Morning 8am While Im Sleeping

[0zz1]

This morning around 8 am someone broke into our town-house by forcing the lock open while my wife was in the shower and I where sleeping in my bed.

Our daughter leaves every morning around 7.30 am to school and leaves the gate unlocked as there are people already around on the streets and we always felt it pretty safe neighborhood.

Around 8 am my wife goes to shower and I hear noise from downstairs, but I think its our daughter and I go back to sleep. Around 8.20 am my wife wakes me up and tells that we have been robbed.

I check downstairs gone is: Dell Mini 10 laptop with Apple OS X (hackintosh) in it, my five's pink mobile phone and 2.000 baht cash from our wallets. My Swiss watch was still in the table as was Mac Mini so he/she did not have too much time.

I wish to find my notebook back so if anyone sees one for sale like that (black cover) please inform me, I dont believe there are more than few of those in CM with Apple OS in them (ofcourse it could already be formatted).

My address where the burglary happen is 11 Thanon Thepsathit. (this is soi between Bangkok Bank and Kasikornbank on Suthep Rd). Police is "investigating" and neighbors did not see anything.

Which surprises me is that the guy have taken big risk. 8 am there are usually many people on the street and the shops opposite to us are open. There where 3 motorbikes and 2 bicycles in the front yard so it did not look like empty house either...

Well anyway if anyone sees laptop as described please call 081.304.8038 Ozzi.

pic of the laptop: http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/me...ell-mini_10.jpg

[tonititan]

That's scary! I'm glad no one got hurt. Hope you get your computer back.

[JoePai]

Well fortunately you were insured !

[0zz1]

well my insurance dont cover cash, notebooks and mobile phones... So Im paying 1.800 baht / year to Krunsri and apparently they would only cover the desktop computers and displays.

[IanForbes]

That is terrible. I'm sorry to hear it happen in a relatively secure home. It's the loss of all the data on the computer that is the big loss. At least it would be for me. What you are basically saying about the insurance company is they ONLY insure things that are NOT portable... and consequently almost impossible to steal.

[ThaivisaInsurance]

well my insurance dont cover cash, notebooks and mobile phones... So Im paying 1.800 baht / year to Krunsri and apparently they would only cover the desktop computers and displays.

May we suggest for the renewal you contact Thai Visa Brokers as we can offer insurance for notebooks - note, no company will cover mobile phones for obvious reasons. Please go Here for quote.

[NADTATIDA1]

well my insurance dont cover cash, notebooks and mobile phones... So Im paying 1.800 baht / year to Krunsri and apparently they would only cover the desktop computers and displays.

May we suggest for the renewal you contact Thai Visa Brokers as we can offer insurance for notebooks - note, no company will cover mobile phones for obvious reasons. Please go Here for quote.

He hasn"t got a notebook now!,talk about jumping on the bandwagon,and you are wrong insurance can be gained for mobile phones buy quite a few companys actually.

ACE being one.....

To the op sorry about this news.

Edited February 18, 2010 by NADTATIDA1

[hhper]

This is not a forum any more. Just an advertising medium.

[searcher22]

Sorry to hear. I know how bad you must be feeling today. I hope that your laptop data was backed up. As for me, I always keep my laptop locked (with a Kensington lock), even when I'm using it! At night, it stays in my locked room in my locked house.

[chorizo]

We were robbed months back, police ( men in black clothes..CSI? 555 ) came and looked over everything, i showed them the window they came in and foot prints on counter. Also everywhere there would be finger prints. They told me they could not get a print off of wood,, <deleted>....They did not lift the footprint..only drew a picture and measurements...like that will do alot of good...

They did not mess with TV room, went directly to bedroom, took two cameras(that i had sitting on dresser) and opened dresser drawers up, went thru a few envelopes, bill receipts, had a bag with 4-5 Buddhas, they took one small standing one only. That should be good for their Karma...

Police did nothing, wife said we should have offered cash and then they ..maybe... would have done their job.

Had US $ 200 near computer, with my business cards, if they had turned it upside down they would have seen it...think they were only insdie for a very short time..

Had to be local guys as they seen we were gone for two nights.....we live in rural area..

In your case, amazing that they would do that with so many people around outside...seems like more to this as how they would know you were sleeping and wife in shower...had to be someone close that knew ur habits.....

Nosey as the thais are, someone had to see something..........

chorizo

[Donnyboy]

consequently almost impossible to steal

that was one reason my replacement computer is a desktop

the thief took a huge risk alright,just be aware, he might be back knowing that a new replacement laptop could be onsite in a few weeks

[newbie001]

Most likely it was someone that you know or that lives near your community.

I will say this nothing is worse than when your home is invaded. I never care much about the objects as I do about the sanctity of my home.

We have had our country home broken into, it was the neighbor that did it. He was caught trying to sell some of the relics and things that we owned.

You might want to think about investing in a security camera. They are pretty cheap overall. I think for less than 5K baht you can have a pretty good camera installed.

Sorry for your loss and the bad feelings you might have.

[0zz1]

hmm... interesting.. my wife found out that our backdoor (kitchen) door is forced open... so the guy came through back door and left through front door.

but its still weird... coming from back door you need to climb over wall which is not high but it has sharp glass all over. Then again... i think I could climb over without too much damage to myself so it could be easy for a pro...

but coming in from back door you have absolutely no change to know whether there are people inside or not... so this guy just didnt care... scary... no when he has seen my other (4 computers) he might come back for more... I need to buy some protection to home now... ideas?

[NADTATIDA1]

A dog! should give the thief something to think about if he comes back!

Edited February 18, 2010 by NADTATIDA1

[0zz1]

A dog! should give the thief something to think about if he comes back!

for the first time Im actually considering getting one... Doperman or Rotweiler would be good... but actually the dog in the photo looks great as well... is it yours? is it for sale?

[Thaifan2]

What a bummer ! Anyway OP you should have been up by 8 am .A late sleeper are we ?Give yourself a slap .

[Donnyboy]

I need to buy some protection to home now... ideas?

beef up the locks as well, we have something like these in addition to door handle locks. Inexpensive to buy. east to install.

Use Kensington laptop cables to secure laptops, and keep yr wallets/cash and phones in yr bedroom while you sleep.

Think like a thief in terms of ease of access into yr home, open windows, objects to stand on to gain acess to the 2nd floor etc. Make it as difficult as possible.

regards

[toptuan]

This can happen so fast.

My next door foreign neighbor took a short 30-minute nap in his bedroom in the middle of the afternoon, and left his front door (to the living room) open, but his screen door was shut (and, unfortunately, not locked). A thief was in and out his open front door in a flash with his notebook also. We both think it was a local who had just delivered laundry to his home, walking inside his living room to complete the delivery, and possibly eye-balling the goods. Can't prove it though, and no insurance.

We ALL beefed up our locks and keep our screen doors locked even during the middle of the day after that wake-up call. And no locals invited inside unless they are trusted friends. So easy to get careless.

Edited February 18, 2010 by toptuan

[ChangMaiSausage]

well my insurance dont cover cash, notebooks and mobile phones... So Im paying 1.800 baht / year to Krunsri and apparently they would only cover the desktop computers and displays.

May we suggest for the renewal you contact Thai Visa Brokers as we can offer insurance for notebooks - note, no company will cover mobile phones for obvious reasons. Please go Here for quote.

He hasn"t got a notebook now!,talk about jumping on the bandwagon,and you are wrong insurance can be gained for mobile phones buy quite a few companys actually.

ACE being one.....

To the op sorry about this news.

I think this is good information at least it might prevent other people suffering the same loss without replacement.

[ollylama]

i was robbed last year. they forced the back door open as well. now i have bars on the inside. but they'd tried to pry the bars off the window too and it looked like they almost succeeded. good news is they only took cash and cameras. left some old laptops and mp3 players and stuff like that. they took a kilo of loose change i had in a big jar though. weird.

my farang gf called the tourist police and they said they couldn't do anything about it. but my landlord is from a respected family and when he called half the police force came over. still didn't do much.

a week later, one of the cops came by to ask my gf if her "husband" was home. she said no and then he asked her out on a date.

now that's service!

[doppa]

sorry to add a similiar fate to ourselves in phuket, i dont really know how i would react , to actually find someone in your house, i know how i would like to react, but you just never know, if its any consolation, no one was hurt.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

i was robbed last year. they forced the back door open as well. now i have bars on the inside. but they'd tried to pry the bars off the window too and it looked like they almost succeeded. good news is they only took cash and cameras. left some old laptops and mp3 players and stuff like that. they took a kilo of loose change i had in a big jar though. weird.

my farang gf called the tourist police and they said they couldn't do anything about it. but my landlord is from a respected family and when he called half the police force came over. still didn't do much.

a week later, one of the cops came by to ask my gf if her "husband" was home. she said no and then he asked her out on a date.

now that's service!

at least your GF got a free meal and drinks out of the deal

[hmficc]

well my insurance dont cover cash, notebooks and mobile phones... So Im paying 1.800 baht / year to Krunsri and apparently they would only cover the desktop computers and displays.

May we suggest for the renewal you contact Thai Visa Brokers as we can offer insurance for notebooks - note, no company will cover mobile phones for obvious reasons. Please go Here for quote.

Sound like a sleazy try at taking advantage of some ones bad fortune

[Cnxforever]

Sorry to hear that - I know how you feel - it happened to me now 4 years ago. Thief must have seen me sitting in the living room working on the laptop - waited until we left and then forced open a glass door. He took the laptop and a mobil phone.

The problem is not so much the items stolen but one feels violated and one constantly thinks they might be back. I know that the phone company can trace the location of mobil phones up to 50 meters - not by there SIM card but by the ID every mobil phone has imbeded - in my case AIS refused to do it telling me it was not possible - truth is it is very well possible but there are probably costs involved they don't want to bear.

My opposite neighbour is a police man and when we called the police he and about 15 others of them showed up. They took finger prints (most probably their own!!??) and also told me they can only retrive finger prints from glass.

Suspects for all the Thais and police involved where of course some poor Burmese construction workers living in the area, even some friends of ours as the police told us most theft is comitted by people you know or who work for you or their friends.

I went to the only places which buy second hand laptops (Computer places along the klong before Chang Phuak gate, ICON ???) and left our phone number in case someone tried to sell the laptop.

Nothing ever happened and I heard neither from the police nor the computer shops. What I did was I increased the hight of the wall from where the thief must have seen me sitting in the living room. Had burglar bars put up around the house on all windows and doors and installed a door and window alarm, a CCTV camera and motion sensor floodlight in the garden. Never had a problem since.

About 6 month after the break-in my neighbour policeman walks through the police station and sees another policeman flicking though pictures on a laptop which had been recovered from the house of a thief who had been arrested the day before. He recognised his neighbours house (my house) on the pictures and thats how I got my laptop back - to late of course I had already bought a new one but at least I was able to recover the data from the old one.

The thief turned out to be a middle class Thai who had started his own company and made some extra income by breaking into houses he staked out. The family offered money to drop the charges but we insisted they should be prosecuted for all the sleeplless nights they caused us being afraid that they might come back or thast terrible feeling we had everytime we left the house.

They even left all their details on the laptop with business address and phone numbers so I know who they are.

So my advise to all of you is - secure your house so a potential burglar is detered to even try to break into your house. There is no 100% protection but one feels at ease going out or on a holiday having these security measures in place.

[Pikey]

So my advise to all of you is - secure your house so a potential burglar is detered to even try to break into your house. There is no 100% protection but one feels at ease going out or on a holiday having these security measures in place.

Agree and I am under no illusions as to the vunerability that we can be in. We live in a quiet Thai village and I'm not posh or HiSo but probably have a few more desireable items than my neighbours which is potentially going to make our place more of a target. As we always are in the house and can take good care of a dog, this is what a potential burglar has to face at our place:

The dog is a good boy with people he knows. Doesn't bark unnecessarily at night but is a great alarm/deterrent to lowlifes and if he doesn't get 'em, the wife with the (licensed) pumper definitely will

Sleep well......

Cheers,

Pikey.

[Pikey]

So my advise to all of you is - secure your house so a potential burglar is detered to even try to break into your house. There is no 100% protection but one feels at ease going out or on a holiday having these security measures in place.

Agree and I am under no illusions as to the vunerability that we can be in. We live in a quiet Thai village and I'm not posh or HiSo but probably have a few more desireable items than my neighbours which is potentially going to make our place more of a target. As we always are in the house and can take good care of a dog, this is what a potential burglar has to face at our place:

The dog is a good boy with people he knows. Doesn't bark unnecessarily at night but is a great alarm/deterrent to lowlifes and if he doesn't get 'em, the wife with the (licensed) pumper definitely will

Sleep well......

Cheers,

Pikey.

Do you mind giving some info on where she bought and registered her shot gun?

Sure, The shop is called "Gun Service" and is on Chiang Moi Rd. A soi on the right just by the small canal bridge. There is a big travel agent on the corner owned by the same (Indian?) family. The shop owners name is "Prit", nice guy, speaks great English and steers the whole process. FYI, we have a business and house here and are legally married which I think influences the licensing -

registration is with the amphur I think but Prit takes care of it. Farang cannot own any kind of firearm here.

Remington 870 5 shot repeater cost me 37K baht plus about 6K admin fees. We go regularly to the 700 year stadium shooting range to practice. Cheap shells are 600B for 25. It's fun shooting and make sure you and your loved one understand how it works then practice in the house with no lights - job done.

Like a paper insurance policy - hope you never need to call on it, but if you do, it covers your arse!

Cheers,

Pikey.

[waza]

So my advise to all of you is - secure your house so a potential burglar is detered to even try to break into your house. There is no 100% protection but one feels at ease going out or on a holiday having these security measures in place.

Agree and I am under no illusions as to the vunerability that we can be in. We live in a quiet Thai village and I'm not posh or HiSo but probably have a few more desireable items than my neighbours which is potentially going to make our place more of a target. As we always are in the house and can take good care of a dog, this is what a potential burglar has to face at our place:

The dog is a good boy with people he knows. Doesn't bark unnecessarily at night but is a great alarm/deterrent to lowlifes and if he doesn't get 'em, the wife with the (licensed) pumper definitely will

Sleep well......

Cheers,

Pikey.

Do you mind giving some info on where she bought and registered her shot gun?

Whered you get the Trumpy?

[jaideeguy]

With the economy the way it is, there is no wonder why we're hearing about more thefts. Last week, there were 2 houses [side by side] that got hit. thief got mostly portable items and left fast, as it was 12 noon. Speculation is that it was an 'inside job' as one victim works daily and the other was away on a trip. BTW....one victim had a pitbull and other neighbor had another dog.

Our house is never unoccupied!! maid, caregiver and one of us is always here as well as out two pussy cats.

Sorry to the Op and others. a robbery is like a rape in that you are violated.

[nikster]

This is not a forum any more. Just an advertising medium.

Well there are ads, and there are ads. This one was interesting because I am actually interested in notebook insurance, and it's apparently not a standard item to be included on home insurance. So this ad, I'd rather have here than not have.

[nikster]

About 6 month after the break-in my neighbour policeman walks through the police station and sees another policeman flicking though pictures on a laptop which had been recovered from the house of a thief who had been arrested the day before. He recognised his neighbours house (my house) on the pictures and thats how I got my laptop back - to late of course I had already bought a new one but at least I was able to recover the data from the old one.

The thief turned out to be a middle class Thai who had started his own company and made some extra income by breaking into houses he staked out. The family offered money to drop the charges but we insisted they should be prosecuted for all the sleeplless nights they caused us being afraid that they might come back or thast terrible feeling we had everytime we left the house.

Wow! A middle class Thai breaking into houses on the side? That's pretty incredible... truth is stranger than fiction!