Puppy Thieves Hit Phuket

[Phuket Post]

Puppy thieves hit Phuket

Distraught Chalong residents Marshall Rudko and wife Supattra have put out an urgent call for information that leads to the return of their beloved three-month old German Shepherd puppy “Bird”. The cute canine was snatched on 5 January from the couple’s home, near Phuket Zoo, along with a swagbag of computers, jewellery and a video camera by a desperate thief or thieves who may also be behind several other break ins in the area.

“I heard that there were three break ins during this period in my area. Two are farang and their computers have been taken also.” Mr Rudko told Phuket Post. “This is the first problem that we ever encountered in Phuket. I never expected that in this area – especially with the gate, the window and the wall. The curtain was closed and you can hardly see from outside.”

Mr Rudko, 39, who has lived in Chalong for the past six months, had been taking the air at around 7.30 that evening. When he returned from his short stroll, he noticed that the back door had been forced open. The intruder or intruders had ignored the TV and DVD player and headed straight to the locked bedroom where the couple stored their two laptop computers.

“They went through the jewellery draws and all of our papers and threw them all over the bedroom,” Mr Rudko said, explaining that the laptops were filled with irreplaceable personal and business files.

While police so far have few leads, the Canadian believes that the culprits may yet be tracked down. “I bought the laptop from the Rotary Club of Patong's president and there are Rotary stickers on it and his name’s displayed on the desktop. I asked him for an original purchase receipt so I can give that to Macintosh. If anybody takes that computer in to be serviced anywhere in the world, it will show up on the system as stolen.”

Mr Rudko strongly supports the plan to install CCTV around the island – especially in Chalong area where there is such a problem. “As long as you have a sign in both Thai and English telling people there are CCTV cameras installed, maybe crime would decrease.”

Other than the Macintosh I-book and Power Book, the 200,000-baht haul included a two-baht gold ring, a gold buddha locket and a Sony video camera. But Mr Rudko and his wife are missing the puppy most. “We got him as a play friend for our other dog, Dang.”

http://phuket-post.com/article.php?id=145