The houses of two foreigners in Jomtien Beach may have been burned down to hide a burglary, police said.
Three fire trucks responded to View Talay Villas Nov. 1 where they knocked down flames that damaged the homes of Frenchman Yves Deplat, 50, and German neighbor Torsten Lange, 67. The homes were separated by another house that went unharmed.
Firefighters tend to one of two fires at View Talay Villas which they believe might have been set to mask a burglary.
Neither of the homeowners currently is in Thailand. Jean Prouvost, 51, the neighbor in the middle house, told police he heard what sounded like a prowler entering Deplat’s house two days earlier, but found nothing amiss when he went to investigate.
Today, Prouvost said, he spotted smoke coming out of the home and called firefighters. The fire in the second house was discovered after officers arrived.
Both houses sustained minor interior damage and arson investigators are looking into both blazes.
