The Huai Khwang Police Station is preparing to remand a 17-year-old male suspect involved in a gold theft incident at a popular mall in the Ratchada area. The young man allegedly stole a 5-baht gold bracelet and fled on a motorcycle. He was apprehended within three hours of the crime.
Pol. Col. Prasopchok Iampinit, Superintendent of Huai Khwang Police Station, revealed that the youth is still being questioned with the presence of child protection officers. After the interrogation, the suspect will be remanded to the Central Juvenile and Family Court in the afternoon of August 19. An investigation revealed that the motorcycle used in the escape belonged to the suspect’s grandfather, who had purchased it and allowed the youth to continue paying for it.
The suspect claimed to have purchased the gun used in the crime online over a year ago. Authorities are verifying this claim. Police are preparing to charge the suspect with four offenses: armed robbery using a firearm and a vehicle, attempted murder, illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, and carrying a firearm in public without valid reason.
The incident occurred at a gold shop on the second floor of a mall on Ratchadaphisek Road. The shop’s staff reported being frightened during the robbery. The perpetrator, a man wearing a white cap, a mask, a black t-shirt, black pants, and carrying a shoulder bag, initially pretended to browse the gold display. He then seized a 5-baht gold bracelet and fled down the escalator. During his escape, he dropped a lighter and a gun magazine near the escalator and sped off on a gray-black Honda Wave motorcycle.
Further investigation revealed that before the robbery, the suspect had scouted the shop, hesitating before deciding to commit the crime. After entering the store a second time, he asked to see two gold necklaces. After inspecting the first necklace and returning it, the suspect, showing signs of nervousness, seized the second bracelet and ran out of the store, stumbling and leaving his sandals behind. A store employee chased him down the escalator, but the suspect turned and fired his gun twice—once with a misfire and the second time hitting the ground—before fleeing on his motorcycle.
Police arrested the suspect at an apartment in the Huai Khwang area, recovering the stolen 5-baht gold bracelet and the motorcycle used in the crime. The suspect admitted to throwing the gun into the Rangsit Canal after the robbery, and authorities took him to the location to retrieve the discarded weapon before continuing the investigation. (TNA)
