Police are hunting a bungling Burmese worker who is believed to have carried out the robbery, but who abandoned the gold.
The owner of the gold shop, Papan Amratsiri, told police that the man came to the shop and pretended to be looking for some gold to buy for his wedding dowry.
He suddenly snatched two trays of gold, totalling 1,577 grams in weight and worth close to B3 million, and turned to flee.
Mr Papan, however, locked the shop’s automatic door before the suspect could escape.
The suspect then pulled out a hammer, apparently aiming to throw it at Mr Papan. Mr Papan, however, in shooting worthy of the best Western movies, pulled out his gun and fired two shots. The first glanced off the robber’s right wrist, sending the hammer spinning.
The robber immediately went into a wai, pleading for his life as Mr Papan squeezed the trigger again.
The second shot missed the robber and blew out the window of the shop, allowing him to escape.
Called to the scene, police found that the robber had dropped 1,350 grams of gold and his backpack in front of the shop.
More abandoned swag was found abandoned next to the robber’s motorbike on Soi Suksan, not far from the gold shop.
At the motorbike police found a fake gun, a knife and an immigrant worker's ID card in the name of Lache Man, 19.
They expect to catch him soon.