SA KAEO : A Polish man claiming to have been drugged, robbed and lost his memory turns out to be a suspect wanted by police in Poland and also for alleged theft in Roi Et province.
On Feb 24, a European man later identified as Dariusz Pieprzyca was arrested by immigration police for illegal entry at Rong Kluea border market in Aranyaprathet district.
During police questioning, the man appeared to be ''mentally unstable'', according to police. He told police he was drugged and robbed of all his money and passport.
He was taken to Aranyaprathet Hospital for medical treatment, with police posted to keep watch over him.
On March 9, a person giving his name as Anucha Tippon posted on his Facebook account photos and a video clip of a foreigner who ''has lost his memory'', asking for help finding his family.
Mr Anucha said he had visited a relative at the same hospital and had a chance to meet and talk to the foreigner. After learning of his plight, Mr Anucha said he felt sorry for him and offered to help.
In his Facebook post, which was shared more than 100,000 times, Mr Anucha said the man was thought to be from Europe and had lost his memory. He could not remember his name, country or place of residence and had been robbed, so had no identification documents.
Polish police took notice and confirmed the man's identity as Dariusz Pieprzyca, who is wanted for alleged crimes in Poland.
Pol Lt Col Chaturapat Singhasathit, deputy police chief at Klongluek police station, then sought information from police stations nationwide and learned that Mr Pieprzyca was also wanted here on an arrest warrant for theft. The warrant was issued by the Roi Et Provincial Court in January.
A records check found that he travelled in and out of Thailand through a border checkpoint in Mukdahan in January, police said.
On Sunday, police served Mr Pieprzyca the arrest warrants from Poland and from Roi Et, but he still claimed he could not remember anything. Police took him out of the hospital for questioning at Klongluek police station.
Mr Preprzyca's picture was also posted on social media last month, with the message he had also claimed to have lost his memory while in Hanoi, Vietnam.