The incident came to light through a post shared on the Phuket News Hawk page.Pol Sgt Supachai Arunchot and Pol Sgt Phuthip Chotiwatanakorn of the Phuket Provincial Police reported the incident.
Pol Sgt Supachai explained that the naughty monkey, actually a macaque, became agitated when the tourist and her friend came too close or teased it. In a swift move, the monkey snatched the bag, containing a phone, a room key card and a battery charger, from the woman and fled up a tree with the loot.
Relying on local knowledge, Pol Sgt Supachai employed an unusual but effective tactic to recover the stolen items. Following villagers’ advice, he threw a stone near the monkey without aiming to harm it. The monkey, startled, promptly dropped the stolen items, which were then safely returned to the grateful tourist.
The humorous yet cautionary tale has sparked various reactions on social media, with users sharing their own monkey encounters and expressing amusement at the monkey’s antics. Comments ranged from playful jests about the monkey’s “arrest” to light-hearted inquiries about potential penalties or jail time for such behaviour.
The officers took the opportunity to remind tourists to maintain a safe distance from monkeys, despite their seemingly friendly demeanour.
“Please warn tourists who come to hike [at Khao Toh Sae], because sometimes they think monkeys are friendly, but monkeys like to snatch things. You must not hold or get too close to monkeys. Some of them can hurt you," the officers advised.