Police Arrest Gang For Stealing From Japanese Tourist

October 19, 2013

A mother and her son deceived and drugged a Japanese man and left him in Pathumthani Province, but they denied drugging him and told the police that they just deceived him into gambling with them. The police do not believe them, as there is the theft of property and fraud from the misuse of the Japanese man’s credit card also involved.

PHATHUMTHANI – October 18, 2013 [PDN]; At 2.00 p.m. Section-1 Investigation Division of the Provincial Police including Police Major General Kachen Kotchaplayook (Deputy Commissioner); Police Major General Methee Kusolsarng (Deputy Commissioner); Police Colonel Thawatchai Yingcharoensuk (Commander); plus Major General Samitthi Mookdasanit (Commander of Pathumthani Province), made a joint statement regarding a complex criminal matter. It started with the arrest of Mrs. Natthanan Kaenmai, aged 50-years and her son Mr. Krit Limrotanan, age d 27-years, after they committed a crime together with M/s. Arom Kaewreung or “Nid,” aged 25 years, who is still ‘on the run’ in relation to a drug related offence plus stolen property and money belonging to Mr. Keichi Yamamoto, who is a Japanese tourist.

Police Major General Kachen revealed that on the day of the incident Mr. Yamamoto went to eat food at the restaurant in Khaosarn Road (presumably in Pattaya), then Mrs. Natthanan and M/s. Arom came to talk with him and ate food together until 2.00 am. In the morning. Then the two women took Mr. Yamamoto to a taxi and travelled from Khaosarn Road to Pathumthani Province. They then left him at the bus stop beside the highway near the “Foundation For the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and Related Techniques” on Pathumthani Road, at Amphur Muang Pathumthani in Pathumthani Province. As is happened, this was in the area of Suan Prikthai police station, and when bystanders found Mr. Yamamoto lying down unconscious, as if he was drugged, they notified the police and sent him to the local hospital. A doctor checked his body and found a substance in his body, which it acts similar to a hypnotic drug. The loss of property belonging to Mr. Yamamoto was cash of around 20,000 THB (Thai baht), mobile phone, camera, documents and personal cards. After they had been notified the detective police team of Pathumthani Province together with the detective police team of Suan Prikthai police station viewed a large amount of CCTV records. They found footage from one of the banks that recorded an event where Mr. Krit brought Mr. Yamamoto’s credit card to withdraw money from the bank several times. The police officers followed up in order to make arrests, which resulted in the arrest Mrs. Natthanan and Mr. Krit at the border of Aranyaprathet, in the Sakaew Province as these criminals came back from gambling in Cambodia.

After police questioning, Mrs. Natthanan confessed that on the day of the incident, she was at the restaurant at Khaosarn Road with M/s. Arom. It was their intention to deceive the victim (Mr. Yamamoto) into gambling and while Mr. Yamamoto was talking with Ms. Arom during the time they were in the restaurant they let him drink ‘Baraku,’ with liquor until he got drunk. Then they took him by taxi to Pathumthani Province, in order to cross the border and gamble in Cambodia. However, on the way to Pathumthani Province Mr. Yamamoto appeared to be heavily drunk so they left him at the bus stop and claimed that they did not drug him. She further claimed that they are not a gang that drugs victims but simply just deceived the foreign victim into gambling and they had stolen several times from the victim to get money for gambling. The police still do not believe them, so they have been detained for prosecution according to Thai law and the officers will follow up further to arrest M/s. Arom, who will also face prosecution too.