At 10.30pm this Thursday (Aug 8), Sub Lt Sura Lerttai of Sakoo Police was notified by two Malaysian tourists that they were robbed by a teenager on Route 4031 in Nai Yang area a couple of hours earlier.
The victims, Malaysian nationals Sivakumar Patchymuthu, 45, and Mrs Shiyamala Navaratnam, 44, described the incident as a typical snatch-and-run motorcycle robbery.
The couple told that they had had a dinner at a restaurant near Phuket International Airport and were riding back to their hotel in Nai Yang when a teenage man on a motorcycle drove up from behind, snatched Ms Navaratnam's white handbag and sped away.
The couple followed the culprit and later saw him talking to another person. Having realised that the victims found him, the man jumped on his bike and fled towards Bang Ma Lao Market.
According to the statement of the victims, the suspect was dressed in black jacket and black trousers. The Malaysians also mentioned that the teenager was fair-skinned.
Ms Navaratnam's stolen handbag contained a golden bracelet, a mobile phone, glasses, personal documents and an equivalent of B20,000 in Malaysian Ringgit and USD.
It was specifically mentioned in the police report that the suspect did not assault the tourists.