Motorbike Taxi Driver arrested following Necklace Snatch in East Pattaya

10th March 2010

On Tuesday, Police and Volunteers were called to Soi 12 off the Siam Country Club Road following reports of a necklace snatch. At the scene, they were met by the victim of the snatch, Khun Sarort aged 40. He was in possession of half of a 3 Baht-weighted gold necklace worth around 55,000 Baht. He explained to Police that as he was walking along the street, a Thai Man pulled up on a motorbike and attempted to snatch his gold necklace. In the ensuing struggle, the suspect fell off his bike and ended up snapping the necklace and running away with half of it into a nearby housing estate. After an extensive search of the village by Police and Volunteers, the suspect, Khun Supat aged 28, a motorbike taxi driver based in Naklua, was found hiding in house number 210/31. He was taken to Banglamung Police Station where he was charged with aggravated theft. The broken part of the necklace was returned to its rightful owner. The suspect had been arrested twice before in relation to drug offences. He claimed this was the first time he had committed a theft and claimed he was two months behind on his motorbike loan repayments and needed money to repay the loan or he would lose his bike and position at the motorbike taxi rank. Police suspect this was not the first time he had committed such a crime and will investigate further to see if he can be matched with any outstanding theft cases.