Arrested in bed - Pattaya electrician preyed on tourists who kept money in hotel safes

 

Picture: Sanook

 

PATTAYA: -- Police in Pattaya have announced the arrest of an electrician who was stealing from tourists.

 

Nakorn, 40, had an interesting modus operandi. Pattaya station chief Apichai Krobpetch said he would apply for jobs at top local hotels using fake names and IDs.

 

He would then bide his time before stealing safes in tourist rooms and replacing the safe with an old one.

 

His latest crime was committed in January when an Omani tourist reported that a safe containing 100,000 baht in foreign currency had gone missing from his room at a well known hotel on Pattaya Sai 2.

 

CCTV showed who had committed the crime but the suspect had fled the area following the theft.

 

A warrant was issued and the police continued to try to track Nakorn's whereabouts.

 

Yesterday they got their chance and the suspect was arrested in bed in a room in Central Pattaya after he had moved back into the area to steal again.

 

Police said there were warrants out for him for similar crimes in Pattaya, Jomtien and Phayathai in Bangkok.

 

Source: Sanook

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-07-11

so they caught an electrician in his 'shorts' ?

Good thing he wasn't amped up or tried put up any resistance and try to volt after blowing a fuse. Given his current situation, I think he won't be switching anymore safes. Hopefully, he will remain grounded and no more tourists will be shocked to find their valuables gone. 

Murders , rapes , beating , stealing  , hit and Run, deceiving , cheating , snatching bags, ripping off , what else is the list ?!? 

Murders , rapes , beating , stealing  , hit and Run, deceiving , cheating , snatching bags, ripping off , what else is the list ?!? 

Well that's enough about the US and UK, but what do you think about Thailand? This is a Thai forum.

18 minutes ago, Nemesis7 said:

Murders , rapes , beating , stealing  , hit and Run, deceiving , cheating , snatching bags, ripping off , what else is the list ?!? 

Balcony Pushing. ?

I never trusted the safes in hotels here, If I'm not home I carry my money and passport with me  at all times. 

 

He got jobs by using fake IDs. So, what use is an ID if it can be faked and there is presumably no way to check if it is fake? And if there is a way then why wasn't it done?

Good to see the coppers kept the files open on this guy even after 6 months away from the spotlight. 

Once got locked out of my hotel safe on day 2 of a visit and enquired at reception what had happened. They said they reset all the safes every day at noon but "it's no problem the new code is always 0000". 

Unsurprisingly, they failed to see the problem with this system. 

6 hours ago, docshock13 said:

Good thing he wasn't amped up or tried put up any resistance and try to volt after blowing a fuse. Given his current situation, I think he won't be switching anymore safes. Hopefully, he will remain grounded and no more tourists will be shocked to find their valuables gone. 

The tourist's who valuables were stolen can't wait to get back ohm. I couldn't imagine just going out faraday and coming back to find your safe gone. 

Not being a career crim, I found his modus operandi somewhat strangely clever for an indig.

 

i mean replacing the safe with an identical one gives him more escape time especially if the occupant of the room is not checking his safe daily.  Now if only he could have been as clever with the CCTV feeds

30 minutes ago, Jaybott said:

The tourist's who valuables were stolen can't wait to get back ohm. I couldn't imagine just going out faraday and coming back to find your safe gone. 

At least he is not up on charges of battery. Though I am sure he will still receive a lot of static from the judge in the circuit court. This spark plug should plead guilty to receive a short sentence and early discharge from prison. 

4 hours ago, Nemesis7 said:

Murders , rapes , beating , stealing  , hit and Run, deceiving , cheating , snatching bags, ripping off , what else is the list ?!? 

Just like news back home 

Just now, docshock13 said:

At least he is not up on charges of battery. Though I am sure he will still receive a lot of static from the judge in the circuit court. This spark plug should plead guilty to receive a short sentence and early discharge from prison. 

Not a judge on earth would do otherwise.

These hotel safes have an override key in case you forget the combo. The maids can easily secure one or have a copy. These hotel safes are a joke, your better off putting your stash in a katoys g-string for safe keeping.

10 hours ago, tonray said:

so they caught an electrician in his 'shorts' ?

Shocking! He refused to confess. Oh dear.

3 hours ago, Muhendis said:

Not a judge on earth would do otherwise.

Even if he tries to insulate himself from these charges, he will still be on the socket docket. Perhaps prison time will be a real transformer for him. 

That is it. I think I am out of electricity jokes. 

This Pattaya thief certainly generated some har har dee har comments. Will he get a big sentence,

or just a short time in Jail and a fine?

Geezer

16 hours ago, balo said:

I never trusted the safes in hotels here, If I'm not home I carry my money and passport with me  at all times. 

 

Just the opposite POV.  I meticulously avoid carrying my passport, other docs, credit cards and large amounts of money on the street, and always use the room safe.  I've never had any problems with safes, and one of the very few times I did have my passport on me I was pick-pocketed (and I have an almost paranoid awareness of pickpockets...)..   (And what a PIA replacing the PP was!)   If anything needs to be done in the room, I make it a point to be present while the work's going on.  Then again, there are always the housekeepers, but again, I've never had a problem, and that's in many  years.

 

I suppose choice of hotel can make a difference, as well as "flashiness" (jewelry, expensive clothes/luggage, etc.).  'Wonder what the "top" hotel in this story actually was...  If really so, this thief doesn't sound too bright and should've known he'd be seen on candid camera - they might not work some places, but I'd expect they'd be more likely to in the upscale places - carrying something as bulky as a room safe.

 

'Wonder how the hotel "made things right" for the guest... 

 

 

 

 

13 hours ago, docshock13 said:

Even if he tries to insulate himself from these charges, he will still be on the socket docket. Perhaps prison time will be a real transformer for him. 

That is it. I think I am out of electricity jokes. 

Nah! You have another three phases to get through yet.........

On ‎7‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 5:29 PM, eeyang wah said:

Once got locked out of my hotel safe on day 2 of a visit and enquired at reception what had happened. They said they reset all the safes every day at noon but "it's no problem the new code is always 0000". 

Unsurprisingly, they failed to see the problem with this system. 

 

The ones I have used in hotels are set to my own code. The only way to change them would be by entering my room, opening the safe with the emergency key, and then resetting the code.

 

 

On ‎7‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 6:34 PM, inThailand said:

These hotel safes have an override key in case you forget the combo. The maids can easily secure one or have a copy. These hotel safes are a joke, your better off putting your stash in a katoys g-string for safe keeping.

The only secure way is to buy a door knob cover lock to use on the room door. That way, no one can enter the room without you being in it. Only for round door knobs far as I know.

 

Some one entered my room "by mistake", with a key the other day, but I was inside at the time. Now I use my own lock even if just going to the 7 11.

22 hours ago, hawker9000 said:

one of the very few times I did have my passport on me I was pick-pocketed (and I have an almost paranoid awareness of pickpockets...)..  

 

 

 

 

Which is why money belts are a good idea.

Personally, I think locking your passport in your bag is safer. They won't mess with it unless they know for sure it has valuables. They then have to steal your bag or cut it open. Too much work and leaves proof of a theft.

12 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

 

The ones I have used in hotels are set to my own code. The only way to change them would be by entering my room, opening the safe with the emergency key, and then resetting the code.

 

 

Me too! This hotel was a very surprising exception. 

All would depend on what type of hotel, IMHO?

 

Have modestly travelled a bit here and there and never had an issue with theft in a Hotel.

 

For sure, I would never trust anything in a seedy short-time style Pattaya hotel.

19 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Which is why money belts are a good idea.

I guess if a passport will fit in one, and remains reasonably accessible when you need to produce it (as in, there was a reason for my carrying it on that particular occasion...)

 

I have absolutely no way to prove the supposition, but I sort of suspect that room safes are generally chosen for pilfering because the guest has attracted attention to himself in some way.   Gold necklaces; expensive watches/rings, clothes, shoes or laptop; pricey luggage; flashing cash; etc.   In 30 years, 'never had a problem with these safes, but I leave the good stuff at home and mainly use the safe just for passport, other travel docs, credit cards, & stuff with PII (personally identifiable information) on it.  Garden variety safe robbers are after cash, and can't afford to pilfer every room in the hotel searching blindly for it...

 

Staff with emergency keys to these safes are also a problem, but I think the same rules apply WRT making oneself a target...   (And posted disclaimers warning guests about their valuables notwithstanding, nicer hotels don't really want a reputation for incidents involving their hired staff.