UDON THANI – An out-of-work tour guide desperate for money tried to rob a bank with a fake gun but lost his nerve and fled, and was arrested, police said.
Police said a Kasikorn Bank branch in Muang district reported the attempted holdup on Wednesday.
The robber fled when the teller refused to give him any money and was arrested by police at a petrol station about two hundred meters away.
The man, identified only as Chaiya, 40, was arrested in possession of a fake shotgun.
Police said the suspect is a former tour guide who has been struggling to pay his bills. He was laid off by his employer in Pathum Thani province after a drop in the number of Japanese tourists in the province.
The suspect said he could not find any work, but the bills keep piling up. He said he had to move back to Udon Thani to live with his mother bcause he could not pay his rent.
So he decided to rob a bank. He borrowed a motorcycle and a helmet from a friend and bought the fake gun from a toy store.
He told police that the woman at the bank’s counter refused to give him any money and decided to flee after he caught a glimpse of a police car near the bank.
Police followed him and arrested him moments later. According to police, the suspect tried to escaped during the ride to the police station.
But he unknowingly hid near the house of Udon Thani’s police chief and was arrested by the police patrolling the area. He is now in police custody again.