More than 3,000 sailors honored an Air and Coastal Defense Command squad leader who single-handedly nabbed a robbery suspect in Plutaluang.
ACDC commander Rear Adm. Eakaraj Phomaumpak awarded Petty Officer 1st Class Thanaphum Pungsungnern with a medal for bravery on Nov. 24 at the navy’s parade grounds in Sattahip.
Thanaphum was returning home Sept. 22 when he spotted a motorcyclist trying to rob Nisa Inrispong of Pattalung as she parked her car on Sukhumvit Road near the For Fun Dental Clinic.
The sailor intervened in the robbery and the suspect fled on foot. Thanaphum, still in his dress uniform from a navy function, chased and tackled him on the rugby field at the Naval Sports Center before calling Plutaluang police.
Nisa thanked and presented Thanaphum with flowers for his action. She lauded him for helping others with no thought to his own safety.
Eakaraj likewise said the sailor actions bolstered the reputation of the Royal Thai Navy.
