A TOURIST couple who thought they'd had their Phuket holiday ruined were pleasantly surprised yesterday when swift action led to the capture of a thief.
Kip Brenton, 31, and five-months pregnant Rhonda Myhre, 30, from Canada, had spent a few days in Patong before moving to the Mon Bungalow in Rawai, where they intended to stay for three months.
Yesterday they went out about noon and returned at 1pm to find their bungalow had been ransacked. An open window told the story. Gone were a laptop, a digital camera, and 15,000 baht in cash.
When police questioned the bungalow's owner, Khun Mon, she told them that she also owned the Angel Bar, adjacent to the bungalows. One of the staff at the bar had unexpectedly disappeared, she said.
A police check at the bus station in Phuket City showed that 18-year-old U-Dom Kuthasa had speedily boarded a bus for Bangkok.
Officers called a police station along the route in Phang Nga, where the young man was unceremoniously bundled off the bus and returend to Phuket with his haul.
Mr Brenton said: ''My friends told me before we came to be careful of the local police. But in our case, we couldn't have been treated better.''
Phuket's Sporting High Season ShowdownKip Brenton, 31, and five-months pregnant Rhonda Myhre, 30, from Canada, had spent a few days in Patong before moving to the Mon Bungalow in Rawai, where they intended to stay for three months.
Yesterday they went out about noon and returned at 1pm to find their bungalow had been ransacked. An open window told the story. Gone were a laptop, a digital camera, and 15,000 baht in cash.
When police questioned the bungalow's owner, Khun Mon, she told them that she also owned the Angel Bar, adjacent to the bungalows. One of the staff at the bar had unexpectedly disappeared, she said.
A police check at the bus station in Phuket City showed that 18-year-old U-Dom Kuthasa had speedily boarded a bus for Bangkok.
Officers called a police station along the route in Phang Nga, where the young man was unceremoniously bundled off the bus and returend to Phuket with his haul.
Mr Brenton said: ''My friends told me before we came to be careful of the local police. But in our case, we couldn't have been treated better.''
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Well done again to the Police.
The line about the holidaymakers being previously warned about the local police says it all. They had a bad reputation. Lets hope that stories like this, where the crooks are caught, are beginning to become more prevalent and that the tide is turning.
Posted by Mr Man on November 25, 2010 11:56