Bogus 'Good Samaritans' held for robbing tourist

Bogus 'Good Samaritans' held for robbing tourist

Police at the Hua Hin station interrogate three men accused of robbing a Swedish tourist after first going to help her when she fell off her motorbike. (Photo by Chaiwat Satyaem)
Police at the Hua Hin station interrogate three men accused of robbing a Swedish tourist after first going to help her when she fell off her motorbike. (Photo by Chaiwat Satyaem)

HUA HIN — Police have arrested three men accused of robbing a Swedish woman of cash and an iPhone shortly after coming to her assistance when she fell off her motorcycle.

The trio — Kamphol Matchawong, 23, Suthep Phetthakun, 24, and a Karen man identified only as Kuhaebu, 22 — were apprehended separately in Pran Buri in Prachuap Khiri Khan and in Kaeng Krachan district of neighbouring Phetchaburi and were taken to a media briefing in Hua Hin on Saturday. 

They have been charged with robbing Vanja Agren, a Swedish tourist, of 7,000 baht in cash and an iPhone in Hua Hin on the morning of May 4, said Pol Maj Gen Kritsana Jaemsawang, chief of the Prachuap Khiri Khan police.

Footage from a closed-circuit television camera near the robbery scene recorded the incident that led to the arrests.

Police said Mr Kamphol told them that he had gone to Hua Hin on the night before the robbery and met the two other men there. They drank together and then went riding around the beach town on his motorcycle. At around 5am on May 4, they came across the tourist, who was injured after falling off her motorcycle.  

He and his friends approached the woman to help her. But when he noticed she was carrying several thousand baht and an iPhone, greed got the better of him, he said. He snatched her handbag and fled with his friends on the motorcycle.

He gave his friends 1,000 baht each. They returned to Kaeng Krachan while he went to his room in Pran Buri. He was caught while taking tourists to ride on a horse along a beach in Pran Buri.

The suspects returned the stolen iPhone to the tourist, who came to identify them on Saturday. However, they had spent all the stolen money.

Ms Agren said she felt sad that the three men, whom she thought were Good Samaritans coming to her rescue, turned out to be thieves. If they had told her that they needed money, she would have given it to them, she said. 

She was happy that police acted swiftly to arrest the suspects. She said she loved Thailand and would visit the country again.

Tourist safety in Hua Hin has been a subject of concern since the emergence of a shocking video last month showing three British visitors being beaten unconscious by four local men.

The incident took place on April 13 but did not come to public attention until the video, taken from a security camera, was leaked two weeks later. All four suspects are now in custody.

Swedish tourist Vanja Agren thanks senior police officers in Hua Hin for acting swiftly to arrest the three men who robbed her. (Photo by Chaiwat Satyaem)

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (13)