Phuket handyman caught robbing safe in Russian woman’s room

[webfact]

Phuket handyman caught robbing safe in Russian woman’s room
Phuket Gazette


Hotel handyman Suriyan Saenamongkol hands back some of the money he stole from Russian tourist Tatiana Gorshkova. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong

PHUKET: -- Police Monday night arrested a hotel staffer in Karon who used a master key and a stolen room safe key to rob a Russian tourist of the equivalent of nearly 20,000 baht in banknotes.

The thief also deleted CCTV records at the Karon Phunaka Resort and Spa in the hope of covering his tracks.

Tatiana Gorshkova discovered 10,000 baht cash, US$100 (about 3,100 baht) and 6,000 rubles (nearly 6,000 baht) missing from her room safe yesterday afternoon.

“We checked the room and the safe, but found no trace of a break-in,” said Maj Theeradet Jiraksa of the Karon Police.

“We thought the thief might be a hotel staffer, so we checked and found that Suriyan Saenamongkol, 28, was working at the time of the robbery. He’s a hotel handyman, and he had a master key at the time of the robbery,” Maj Theeradet said.

After Mr Suriyan was questioned for three hours, he confessed to stealing the key for the safe in Ms Gorshkova’s room from behind the reception desk three weeks ago.

“He also took a master key from the reception desk to open the room for the maid two weeks ago, but he didn’t return it,” Maj Theeradetch explained.

Mr Suriyan told police that he used the master key to enter Ms Gorshkova’s room while she was out.

“I unlocked the safe and stole some of her money just after midnight on Sunday,” he said.

“I did not take all the money in the safe because I wanted hotel staff and police to believe that Ms Gorshkova might have lost the money somewhere or spent it shopping,” Mr Suriyan said.

“I also deleted the hotel CCTV footage so police and other hotel staff could not track me down,” he added.

Mr Suriyan was taken to Karon Police Station and charged with robbery.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Phuket-handyman-caught-robbing-safe-in-Russian-woman-s-room-22581.html


-- Phuket Gazette 2013-10-23

[chooka]

Handed back some of it for the Photo opportunity, so where is the rest of it. Giving a 100 baht back hardly exhonerates you from being a thief. Oh sorry it was a farang's money. Big hugs all round and all is forgotten justice is served. Bloody Farangs causing trouble again

Edited October 23, 2013 by chooka

[somchaismith]

“I did not take all the money in the safe because I wanted hotel staff and police to believe that Ms Gorshkova might have lost the money somewhere or spent it shopping,” Mr Suriyan said.

Charming insight into the mentality of a thief.

[steelepulse]

Where's the quality control on the handing out of master keys? How does he have access to the cctv footage? That should be verboten.

[MMarlow]

Handed back some of it for the Photo opportunity, so where is the rest of it. Giving a 100 baht back hardly exhonerates you from being a thief. Oh sorry it was a farang's money. Big hugs all round and all is forgotten justice is served. Bloody Farangs causing trouble again

That's definitely not a 100B note he's giving back and there is no mention of him being exonerated, he was arrested and charged with robbery if you read the report.

[Dr Robert]

so how did he open the safe? is there a tradesman's/handy mans' entrance? Or are hotel safes ironically named?

Edited October 23, 2013 by Dr Robert

[chooka]

Handed back some of it for the Photo opportunity, so where is the rest of it. Giving a 100 baht back hardly exhonerates you from being a thief. Oh sorry it was a farang's money. Big hugs all round and all is forgotten justice is served. Bloody Farangs causing trouble again

That's definitely not a 100B note he's giving back and there is no mention of him being exonerated, he was arrested and charged with robbery if you read the report.

it was it was tongue in cheek my friend and I read the report, Robbery?????? guess that charge will be dropped as it hardly constitutes robbery. Burglary and Theft maybe but definitely not robbery.

[humqdpf]

Where's the quality control on the handing out of master keys? How does he have access to the cctv footage? That should be verboten.

This is only incidentally a story about a staffer who turned out to be a thief or a tourist who was prepared to chase down a crime committed against her.

The real story here is about:

a) really bad operations management in the hotel which does not control master keys, allows a janitor access to CCTV etc

really bad human resources management in the hotel that hired a janitor who is a thief. Generally, such behavior is repeated and often there are issues in the person's background (gambling, addiction etc) that should have come out in the hiring process and certainly under the day-to-day management.

c) highly likely that there was also really bad customer relations in the hotel. Given it was likely that the thief was a repeat offender, there were invariably previous offences which were never looked into by the hotel. In any case, the fact that a hotel will not manage its staff properly invariably means that they do not give a damn about their customers.

[JoeThePoster]

Note to self, avoid Karon Phunaka Resort and Spa.

[webfact]

B20k in stolen cash returned to Russian victim in Phuket
Eakkapop Thongtub


Tatiana Gorshkova with her recovered money.

PHUKET: -- A Russian tourist was fortunate to get nearly B20,000 worth of cash returned to her, after a Karon resort worker confessed to stealing the money from her hotel safe.

Tatiana Gorshkova, 31, from Russia, reported B10,000, USD100 (around B3,000) and 6,000 rubles (around B6,000) cash missing from her room safe at the Karon Phunaka Resort and Spa on Monday.

A investigation at the resort led police to Suriyan Senamongkol, a 28-year-old maintenance worker at the site, who after three hours of questioning by police confessed to the crime.

Police said Suriyan used the hotel’s master key to open Ms Gorshkova’s room, and also used a spare key to open the safety box. He was arrested.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/b20k-in-stolen-cash-returned-to-russian-victim-in-phuket-42501.php

-- Phuket News 2013-10-23

[scorecard]

Where's the quality control on the handing out of master keys? How does he have access to the cctv footage? That should be verboten.

I'll say it again, hotels anywhere are not secure, so many people have access to traditional keys and card keys. Perhaps 90% of hotels have no complete records of who holds, who borrows keys, who has master keys. And are the holders fully serious about security, etc etc?

Determined thieves (and sometimes other guests) know how to trick a maid to go to another floor to get something and while she / he is away the thief slips into the room the maid is currently servicing, steals camera, iPad, wallets, cash, etc etc. So easy it's a total joke.

Super easy in many hotels for a maintenance person, maid, lobby staff, management staff or anybody, to borrow a room key and get it copied in a few minutes.

Super easy and not expensive to buy, on line, the equipment to code plastic cards.

Experienced people know how to easily enter key pad operated small room safes.

I know, I travelled the world for 12 years for my job, stayed in 6, 5, 4, 3 star hotels everywhere. I very quickly learned to never leave any items of value or any personal documents etc., in hotel rooms, not even for 5 minutes.

Several times I sat next to people on aircraft etc., who proudly told me they had a personal policy of stealing enough items from hotels (including from other guest rooms) to sell any fund their travels.

Edited October 23, 2013 by scorecard

[capt_canada42]

thanks for telling me where it is I will dress up in drag and be right over .....

[SOTIRIOS]

......the operative word is 'caught'....

...you see how sophisticated they are...they erase the CCTV footage......

...makes you wonder how many times they are not caught.....

...and even if they are caught....what do they resort to.........

....and someone is found dead in their hotel room....

...with stories of 'very drunk'...or 'very sick'......(throw some empty bottles around.....)...(or some medication...)

[Baloo22]

I love those staged police photo ops. They are a hoot. The victim pointing at the money. The thief sitting down but still pointing at the money. It's like; without all the pointing nobody would notice all that money sitting on the table! Looks like an elementary school theater production!

[dutchman]

no safe is safe

they can be opened just as easy without keys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcYB9ceiAiY

[flyingdoc]

Fantastic news that a thief is actually arrested for robbery in Phuket.

Far greater sums than that are regularly stolen from locked rooms at a particular resort hotel on Samui, and the owner and Manager beg people not to go to the Police, then do absolutely nothing to honour their promise of reparation! Name of the resort can be supplied on request.

[marell]

no safe is safe

they can be opened just as easy without keys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcYB9ceiAiY

Another basic flaw is the override code. The manufacturers often use all zeros or an elementary sequence and the hotels are often too lazy to change it. Sometimes a simple 0-0-0-0 or a 1-2-3-4 will do the trick.

Edited October 23, 2013 by marell

[pacovl46]

LOL, what an idiot. How many people do have access to the CCTV footage? It had to have had been him!!!

[NamKangMan]

Karon is a bad area. I am glad I live in Patong, which is a "tourist safety zone." :)

[MaxYakov]

I love those staged police photo ops. They are a hoot. The victim pointing at the money. The thief sitting down but still pointing at the money. It's like; without all the pointing nobody would notice all that money sitting on the table! Looks like an elementary school theater production!

New meaning of the Land of Smiles - their silliness, our smiles. Or should it be the Land of Laughs?

Probably staged to reassure tourists that the thieves will affably refund the victims (in the unlikely case there is a theft and the even more unlikely case that they are caught, of course).

[brit1984]

lock him up and throw away the key (after checking he hasn't got the master in his pocket)

[NamKangMan]

lock him up and throw away the key (after checking he hasn't got the master in his pocket)

Don't need "the master in your pocket" to get out of gaol on Phuket - just baht.

[unanimosity]

Where's the quality control on the handing out of master keys? How does he have access to the cctv footage? That should be verboten.

Oh, you are assuming he acted alone? When do locals ever do that?

[Sunderland]

Love the fingers pointing at the cash and the thumbs up in the photo. Without such gestures my stupidity wouldn't allow me to have any idea what was going on. Is it perhaps because the average local person reads so little and therefore the reduced chances of reading a news article in full would lead to complete misunderstanding without the finger pointing?

[FLHR]

Hold on now! This guy planned in advance & covered his tracks; yet he confesses when the cops question him??? Either these clown criminals are dumber then a box of rocks or the cops use some heavy interrogation techniques.???

Guess I answered my own question. BOTH

[fire2rescue99]

Beleaguered Tatiana is wearing a Wanted T-shirt. Should be on the thief. I guess she is lucky he didn't take the shirt off her back. I bet there is an equivalent expression in Russian.

I am not sure if she looks disgusted or bemused in the photo. It's de riguer to pose for these photo ops for the agency in charge, whomever that might be. I imagine she was prodded into the photo op. Would have been better to see her giving him a right cross to the chops.

[jacko45k]

Handed back some of it for the Photo opportunity, so where is the rest of it. Giving a 100 baht back hardly exhonerates you from being a thief. Oh sorry it was a farang's money. Big hugs all round and all is forgotten justice is served. Bloody Farangs causing trouble again

That's definitely not a 100B note he's giving back and there is no mention of him being exonerated, he was arrested and charged with robbery if you read the report.

It is definitely not a 20,000 baht note either!

[maddas]

Experienced people know how to easily enter key pad operated small room safes.

correct, there is usually a way to open the safes without the combination, as many people finish the stay and leave the safe locked, in this case it was a stolen key, can happen any day of the week

[KRaymond]

Happy for her that she got the money back. Hope she enjoys the rest of her vacation.

[Zodaka]

I had money stolen in Hua Hin from a safe too. The hotel refused to investigate.