The owner of the house, Phatsamon Chompanat, 44, reported the damage done by the thieves to Patong Police yesterday (Dec 12). Lt Nattawut Saraithong formally received the report.
“There’s nothing left. They took it all. All the doors and windows have been taken… How can the house be closed? Come back and bring the walls and the roof, too,” Ms Phatsamon posted online in explaining her situation.
Ms Phatsamon told reporters yesterday that the home was locked up on March 20, 2020, as the tourism shutdown kicked in.
“It was all locked up. Everything was still in the house in good order, 100% ready to be used again,” she said.
Ms Phatsamon left the island, but returned in December 2021. “After returning, I went back to the house only a few times just to do basic cleaning, wipe the surfaces, and so on,” she explained.
However, her previous visit was some time ago. When she returned to the house on Sunday (Dec 11), she found it had been ransacked, with many items of value stolen.
“Finding the thief is the responsibility of the police, but now I have to hire someone to tear out all the damaged parts that are unusable,” Ms Phatsamon said.
Ms Phatsamon recommended to people who leave their properties unoccupied for long periods of time to use the police service of having the abode registered as unoccupied and having officers stop by from time to time to check that the property has not been broken into.