Capt Sittichai Tiewsakul of the Patong Police told The Phuket News that the four suspects were arrested on Saturday night (Dec 5).
The four arrested were named as Anuchit ‘Eak’ Rawangphai, 40, Thawit ‘Golf’ Sirisuk, 35, Kriangsak ‘Noi’ Khamkhong, 45, and Wassana ‘Toi’ Khamjulla, 39.
The arrest came after the owner of the hotel, Lalitsinee Boonklang, 34, arrived at Patong Police Station at about 8:25pm on Saturday, Capt Sittichai said.
Ms Lalitsinee told police that electrical wires and other items had been stolen from her hotel on Phra Metta Rd. The hotel is currently closed due to the lack of tourists.
She told police that she did not know how many items had been stolen, and was unable to give an estimate of the cost of the damage done.
Capt Sittichai and other officers immediately went to inspect the hotel, which Capt Sittichai declined to name, and found rooms had been stripped of wiring and other items forcibly removed.
“We saw a lot of clues of ransacking. For example, electrical wiring was missing from where it has been installed and some electrical appliances were missing from rooms,” he said.
The officers returned to Patong Police Station only to receive a tip-off at about 10pm that reported unauthorised people were in the building.
“We rushed to the scene and found a man stealing electrical wires on the ground floor,” Capt Sittichai told The Phuket News.
“After seeing the police officers, the man ran upstairs where police found three more thieves. We eventually arrested them all on that night,” Capt Sittichai said.
“The thieves told us that they kept the stolen items at their apartments and their friends’ houses,” he added.
At the suspects’ abodes and those of their friends police recovered three televisions, one electric kettle, one hair dryer, one water pump, and a stash of electrical wires, Capt Sittichai confirmed.
The four suspects were taken to Patong Police Station and all charged with committing theft during the nighttime, he added.
Additional reporting by Eakkapop Thongtub
JohnC | 08 December 2020 - 08:24:07