LUMPINI police today (Apr. 2) arrested a transgender on the charges of stealing a gold necklace from a Belgian tourist as he was walking down Sukhumvit road earlier of this week after suddenly hugging him, Sanook.com said.
Pol. Lt. Col. Naruewat Buddhawiro, deputy superintendent of this police station, said Mr. Manatnan (surname withheld), 30, was arrested at his room in Soi Suksawat 66, Lat Luang subdistrict, Phra Pradaeng district, Samut Prakan province, under an arrest warrant issued on the charges of “theft of property at night.”
The arrest took place after Mr. Frederik de Vreese, 25, filed a complaint with police on Feb. 29 and then told reporters that as he was walking from Sukhumvit Soi 13 to Soi Cowboy in Sukhumvit Soi 21 a person who was likely a transgender came and hugged him and said, “Hello darling, where are you going? Let’s go together.”
However he pushed him away with the incident lasting only five seconds. About 10 minutes later when he went to the bathroom he realised that the gold necklace, which his dad had given him, was gone.
Pol Lt. Gen. Samran Nuanma, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, had ordered the police to quickly arrest the thief because this incident affected the image of the country.
Lumpini police tracked the suspect through a surveillance camera clip that showed that he was wearing a floral printed single shoulder dress and after the theft took a taxi to Soi Suksawat 66.
The accused confessed to having sold the gold necklace at a shop in Charoen Nakhon area for 26,000 baht, also mentioning that he was currently jobless and had no income to meet daily expenses while also being addicted to gambling.
Police said the suspect had previously faced some criminal cases including soliciting, harassing people on the street, prostitution and being a public nusiance in Pattya in 2013, burglary in Pattaya in 2015 and joining others in attacking another person in the area of Lumpini police station jurisdiction in 2022.
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The suspect upon being arrested, below and Home Page.
The suspect moving to hug Mr. Frederik de Vreese and steal his gold necklace, above. All photos: Sanook.com
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