Police say 'ruthless' convicted thief also opportunistic rapist

Police say 'ruthless' convicted thief also opportunistic rapist

Man committed 25 burglaries, 10 attacks over four years

Electronic devices such as notebook computers and smartphones are favourites among cat burglars but these are sometimes the very items that police can track right back to the thief's doorstep.

This was certainly the case with Nawapon Sinma, a 41-year-old Phitsanulok native, who police have arrested after tracing a stolen computer back to his shop.

They have charged him over not only a series of robberies in Bangkok but also over the rape of a 15-year-old victim at one of the burgled houses in 2014.

They said he confessed to the rape of another 10 women during a string of 25 similar burglaries in the capital and in Samut Prakan over the last four years.

The detective work that led to his arrest started in the early hours of July 26 when police were alerted to burglaries at five or more luxury houses at the Supalai housing estate on Chalermprakiat Ror 9 Road in Prawet district.

An investigation found the burglar sneaked into the houses through ventilation channels on the second floor before stealing valuables. 

Caught on cam: A burglar later found to be career criminal Nawapon Sinma. (Photo courtesy Royal Thai Police)

Udomsuk police deputy superintendent Pol Lt Col Neti Wongkularp and his team sifted through CCTV footage at the crime scenes and found the burglar wore a long-sleeved shirt, sweat pants, a balaclava and gloves during the burglaries. 

Police believed the burglar may have hit other housing estates in the Udomsuk area, which were similarly broken into through the ventilation system of second-floor toilets. 

Pol Lt Col Neti focused on the stolen valuables which he knew could give him a lead.

He found three notebook computers were among the stolen items, and asked computer experts to join the investigation.

The GPS signal of one of the stolen computers led police to a second-hand electronic device shop in Nakhon Pathom's Nakhon Chaisi district.

On Aug 3 police went there but found the shop was closed.

Just hours later, before dawn on Aug 4, police were alerted to another break-in at the same housing estate. Several pieces of jewellery were stolen from a house there.

Police went to the shop again that day and met Nawapon, who was the shop owner.

Nawapon had a figure similar to the burglar seen on the CCTV footage, and police found several stolen items at the shop.

But Nawapon insisted he bought the stolen computers from a teenage boy, named "Golf". He denied he had anything to do with the burglaries.

Convicted career burglar Nawapon Sinma, 41, of Phitsanulok, during a police-supervised crime reenactment, shows how he entered a private. (Photo by Wassayos Ngamkham)

Police also found jewellery stolen from the previous night in the shop, as well as the receipt of a nearby tollway in his car, bearing a time and date in keeping with the theft of the jewellery.

But Nawapon insisted he bought the items from other sellers.

Police said Nawapon finally admitted to the crime when police found the clothes and sling bag which the burglar was seen wearing in the CCTV footage.

The suspect told police he couldn't find a proper job and opened the shop to fix televisions and sell used electronic devices.

He admitted to having stolen valuables for more than four years. He usually did this by breaking into houses early in the morning and choosing houses without alarm systems or barred windows. 

A check of his criminal record showed Nawapon was earlier convicted in a theft and rape case in Klong Dan, Samut Prakan, in 2007.

This convinced police he was involved in similar crimes over the past four years.

Pol Lt Col Neti said he confessed during interrogation to having raped more than 10 women. When he found female victims alone in the house, the suspect tied them up and sexually abused them, the officer said.

Nawapon was released from jail in 2011 after serving time for his previous theft and rape conviction.

The 10 burglaries were committed in the Udomsuk area, seven in Min Buri district and eight in Bang Kaew area of Samut Prakan.

He has been charged with these burglaries and a rape case in Min Buri last year.

Police believe his other alleged victims were too ashamed to file complaints they had been raped. They have called on them to come forward and file charges so he can be prosecuted.

"This attacker is ruthless. Although he did not kill the property owners, he raped his victims even when they were very young," Pol Lt Col Neti said.


Contact Crime Track: crimetrack@bangkokpost.co.th

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (3)