Setting a fashion trend
The robber wearing his disguise
Jessada Pumkomol, 32, came forward with CCTV images of the eccentric thief after his mother’s minimart in Phrom Khiri district was robbed on July 24.
The thief has applied black duct tape to his eyebrows, under the nose and across his chin. This is his disguise of choice whenever he goes out on a job.
Since Mr Jessada posted the thief’s image on social media, other netizens have come forward with CCTV images of the man wearing the same disguise as he breaks into their homes and shops.
The man is described as 35–50 years old and smallish in height. He turned up bare-footed for the late-night robbery at Ms Pumkomol’s two-storey place. He gained access by climbing up the building and letting himself in through an unlocked window.
Mr Jessada said the thief used a steel plate from nearby and placed it against the wall to help him clamber up. He said two people were sleeping on the second storey when he made his late-night break-in, but heard nothing.
The thief took a smartphone, cash, brand-name bag, and a .38 calibre handgun.
The news media has run multiple images of the thief breaking into various spots. One news presenter even took to mimicking the disguise, placing black duct tape on his face as he read an item about the thief’s exploits while warning viewers not to be startled by his unusual appearance.
Mr Jessada said an offender wearing the same oddball disguise had broken into homes and shops in Phrom Khiri, Lan Saka, and Tha Sala districts, judging by the feedback he had received from netizens.
He is appealing to police to get a move on, as weeks have passed but the man has yet to be caught.
News reports said police had dusted the shop for fingerprints and examined CCTV footage. No news was to hand about whether they were any closer to making an arrest.
Massage with a kick
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| A masseuse stole more than 1.7 million baht from a client. |
A man in Bangkok regrets striking up a relationship with a masseuse from a city salon after she stole more than 1.7 million baht of his savings via his phone.
Wittawat (no surname provided), 47, who runs a shop selling phones, contacted police after she stole the money in a series of cash transfers via a banking app.
He also contacted Ekkapop Luangprasert, founder of the “Sai Mai Tong Rod” group which helps victims of crime, to help spread word of his misfortune, as he suspects she was acting as part of an organised con.
Wittawat said the woman, identified as Lay (no surname given), gave him a massage at a shop in soi Wat Pho Maen off Narathiwat Road in Yannawa district early last month.
When the main massage was over, Lay offered a “special” massage on top. That was to mark the fateful start of their whirlwind romance in which the crafty Lay was able to siphon funds from his account in multiple transfers, even as he looked on.
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| Wittawat |
“She asked me to transfer the money while we were in the car. I did so, but didn’t know she was watching me enter the password I use for my banking app,” he told reporters.
He said they kept in touch, with Lay inviting him to come for more massages, and together went out for meals.
“If I didn’t answer the phone she would turn up at my shop immediately. I thought she really liked me,” he said.
Each time they met, Lay made out she was jealous, and would ask to inspect his phone to make sure he wasn’t chatting to anyone else.
She used this ruse to quietly transfer money to her own account via his app, while taking care to switch off the SMS text warning which the app normally provides, and deleting copies of the transfer slips which were automatically stored to his phone.
In this manner, Lay was to steal money from under his nose. CCTV images aired in the media show her using his phone while visiting Wittawat at his shop.
“On Aug 15, she asked for 20,000 baht. I transferred it to her though this time I noticed she was staring at my phone as I made the transfer,” he said, adding she was no doubt trying to remember his password as he did so.
The next day she turned up at the shop and made out as if she was jealous, asking to check his phone again.
She used the app to transfer an initial 1,000 baht from his account as if testing the waters. After that, she transferred 49,999 baht another three times, choosing that sum so as to avoid the need to perform a face scan as part of the security measures required for cash transfers of 50,000 baht or more.
On Aug 19, she transferred money from his account another four times, 49,999 baht each time. On Aug 24, she stole from him six times, another 49,000 baht each time; on Aug 29, another five times; and on Aug 30, four times.
On Aug 31, she stole from him another 17 times, or a total of 725,997 that day, taking the total amount stolen to 1.788 million baht.
The next day, Wittawat discovered someone had transferred money from one of his accounts to another. “I was curious so I opened the bank app and had a look. I found a huge amount of money missing, and that she had been transferring it to her account.”
Wittawat alerted Hua Mak police and asked them to freeze her account. While Lay had been careful to switch off the SMS warnings, she mistakenly left a few transfer slips in his phone, which identified herself as the recipient.
“She has been in touch asking me not to take legal action but I want the police to take it as far as it goes, especially if I do not get my money back,” he said.
Mr Ekkapop said it looked like a professional job, as Lay was good at exploiting Wittawat’s vulnerable points.
“She messed up, because if she hadn’t stolen the money, he could have looked after her for the rest of her life,” he added. Police inquiries are continuing.
Bad place to die
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| The underground pit where a Si Sa Ket man met a grisly fate. |
A man in Si Sa Ket met a grisly fate when he fell into an underground pit for producing charcoal.
Locals in Phor sub-district alerted Muang police after Winai (no surname given), 51, fell into the fiery pit he tended in the Ban Non Ngam community on Sept 2.
His arms and legs were burnt so badly they were no longer recognisable; his back and head were the only parts which locals could make out.
Police, who had to ask local firefighters to douse the pit before they could gain access to his body, reckon he had been dead for about two hours before he was found.
A friend of the victim’s, Suban (no surname given), said Winai had blood pressure and diabetes problems. The pair had been into the forest cutting wood together one time when the victim fainted; he took him to hospital.
“He is a hard worker who takes on casual jobs to help make ends meet when he is not making charcoal,” he said.
Winai would feed firewood he had fetched from the forest into the pit, measuring 2m wide, 2.5m long, about 1.2m deep, which is then burned down to create charcoal.
The charcoal is offered for sale at the market. “His death has saddened many. I went to see him at his pit that morning; we sat and had a chat,” he told reporters. He suspected Winai collapsed and fell in.
Nonglak (no surname given), 58, owner of the fire pit next to the victim’s, said she went to take a look at her pit about midday when she smelt the odour of human flesh burning.
“I was too scared to look myself, so I asked locals including my husband for help. That’s when we found him,” she said. Police sent his remains for an autopsy.
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