Around midnight on Friday (April 26), two men climbed aboard the empty catamaran Da Vinci – owned by the Rawai restaurant of the same name – which was moored alongside Chalong Pier. Breaking into it, they set off the alarm.
Pol Lt Kraisorn Boonprasop of Chalong Police told The Phuket News that the owner contacted police who in turn contacted security staff, who spotted the thieves moving stolen items off Da Vinci and onto their own boat.
Seeing the security men approaching the two fled and a pursuit across the water ensued, with both security and police chasing the duo. Before they could get back to their base on Cape Panwa, the two were captured.
Along with Niwat Daungmanee, 21, and Teerapon Malason, 20, police seized two underwater cameras, 20 foreign coins, a knife, a GPRS emergency beacon and the glass fibre boat and engine they allegedly used to carry out the robbery.
They were taken to Chalong Police Station and charged with theft and attempting to escape from the police. They denied the charges.
On Saturday afternoon they were put in the caged back of a police pick-up truck to be taken to Phuket Court for a hearing to consign them to the cells in Phuket Provincial Prison.
Close to the court, they managed to kick open the door of the cage, dropped from the pick-up and then ran down into Klong Bang Yai to try to make their escape.
The police escort made a frantic call to Phuket Town police for backup and a second pursuit began.
The two were finally rearrested, but not without a nasty fight in which Pol Sen Sgt Maj Boonpop Kingmala was slashed in the face with a broken bottle.
He was taken to hospital where he received 10 stitches, and the two suspects were at last sent to the prison, after an additional charge of injuring a police officer in the course of his duty was added to their woes.