A woman was caught stealing a cell phone in the background of an interview in Chiang Mai on a television show hosted by celebrity chef ML Sirichalerm "McDang" Svasti.
One of the TV crew members posted the video of the incident on a Facebook page called Mohok Sectorseven, along with the message: "On Dec 23, 2014, a manud pa stole a phone while we were shooting a TV show with McDang. Please share this video clip for those who know her to see.
"I'm not going to report this to the police. Just return the phone to me and that's it. We're Thai and you're also a lady.
"Please call me at 085-954-0404 and 085-554-4678 or contact me at facebook/Mohok Sectorseven. I've just returned from Chiang Mai. The work was fun but it was very cold."
Manud pa (literally auntie person) is a negative term to describe people who behave selfishly and do what they want while being inconsiderate of others in public areas.
On Friday morning, the crew member wrote that the phone had not yet been returned after three days and legal action might be taken against the woman.
In the video, the mobile phone was seen placed on a bench behind McDang, who was interviewing a Bosang umbrella maker in Chiang Mai.
A woman carrying two plastic bags approached the bench, smiling and appearing to be interested in the shooting of the show. She then placed her bags on top of the phone. She surreptitiously concealed the phone with her bags and picked them up, and the phone, as McDang approached another umbrella maker.