Police, shown here holding photos of two more suspects, have arrested
Santhan Kammongkol (seated) for his involvement in the robbery of a
7-Eleven.
Boonlua Chatree
The shocking daylight armed robbery of two 7-Eleven
employees making an afternoon deposit turned out to be a shockingly
incompetent inside job, with one of the two staffers ambushed and robbed
of more than 600,000 baht confessing after just two hours of
questioning.
Santhan Kammongkol, 20, told Pattaya police he hired
Naret “Tui” Sonklin, 35, and another man identified only as “Aa” to rob
Sirilak Rattana, manager of the convenience store on Naklua Road at Soi
18, as he accompanied her to the bank next door.
Both men, who did escape with the money, are now
being sought by police, who said they expect to announce arrests soon.
Santhan said he tried to throw off police by having
Naret hit him in the face, but police almost instantly saw through his
story. Interrogating him for just two hours, investigators gained
Santhan’s confession after finding repeated calls to the gunmen in his
mobile telephone’s call log.
Santhan said he set up the robbery to clear a debt he
had with Naret. He confessed he telephoned his alleged accomplices
shortly before 5 p.m. Jan. 31 to alert them he’d be taking his
25-year-old manager to the bank, just a few meters from the store.
With a gun to her head, Sirilak coughed up the money
and the gunman fled on a motorbike. Police immediately tried to block
off area roads in hopes of catching the robber, but found nothing. An
investigation is underway.
Santhan admitted they had planned to meet on Naklua
Soi 29 to divvy up the cash later.
Police said they consider the thieves armed and
dangerous and urged anyone who spotted men matching their descriptions
to call 082-799-9111. The same number can be used to call for a police
escort for store clerks taking large deposits to the bank.
