Pattaya, Thailand – Two thieves made off with an iron gate from a residence in a housing estate located in Huay Yai subdistrict in a bold daylight robbery that has left the authorities and the community astounded.
The discovery was made by Sanchai Homchuen, the caretaker of the house, on July 1. He said that he was looking after the property while his sister and her foreign husband were away. Sanchai said that while he was at a nearby food stall, he remotely accessed the CCTV footage on his mobile phone and witnessed the thieves calmly removing the iron gate in broad daylight.
The audacious thieves arrived on a motorbike and meticulously measured the gate. They effortlessly cut the padlock, lifted the two heavy iron panels, each weighing close to 50 kilograms, and secured them to their motorbike sidecar before making their escape.
Sanchai informed the police that this was not the first incident of robbery at the property. Just a few weeks prior, burglars had targeted the house, ransacking it and stealing valuables. They even went as far as severing the power lines, resulting in losses exceeding 200,000 baht. These repeated burglaries prompted the owner, who resides abroad, to make the difficult decision to sell the property.
The local police launched an investigation and utilizing the surveillance footage to identify and apprehend the two suspects responsible for the theft. Although the stolen iron gate panels were recovered, they had already been sold as scrap metal for a mere 380 baht.
The two suspects, Kamolchai “Tom” Sanoy, aged 30, and Phongpat “Top” Kertpha, aged 28, were both taken into custody. Both men claimed to work as general laborers and cited financial difficulties as the motive behind their criminal actions. However, authorities remain skeptical and will continue their investigation to determine any potential involvement in prior criminal activities.
