Their job was made easier by the teen helpfully dropping the registration book for his bike at the scene of the robbery attempt.
Hannah Louise O’Hagan, 27, was riding her motorbike home to Baan Term Fun village in Baan Manik about 7 pm.
She almost reached the entrance when another motorbike with two youngsters on board came close alongside and both bikes crashed.
Ms O’Hagan refused to yield her handbag and the teenagers gave up and drove off. Ms O’Hagan was only slightly injured in the attack.
The Deputy Superintendent of Thalang Police Station, Pol Lt Col Amnuay Kraiwutthianun, told The Phuket News, “Officers found the motorbike registration book on the ground near the attempted snatching, so it was a simple matter to find and arrest the 17-year-old.
“Our investigators are now trying to identify the other perpetrator.”
He denied that a knife had been used by the teenagers in the attempted robbery.