CHACHOENGSAO: Police say the director of a municipal health office in Bang Pakong district has admitted robbing a Krungthai Bank branch of 600,000 baht to help a friend pay off a debt.
The arrest of Rungroj Boonprakob, 48, director of the public health and environment office in tambon Bang Samak, shocked local residents who wondered why someone with 27 years of government service would turn to crime.
Mr Rungroj was arrested on Friday, two days after the KTB branch at Tesco Lotus Bang Wua was robbed of 593,890 baht at around 3.30pm. A motorcycle, a 9mm pistol, a crash helmet, a pair of black gloves and a woolen hat were seized from him.
He was taken to a media briefing at the Bang Pakong police station on Saturday, overseen by Pol Gen Chalermkiart Srivorakhan, a deputy national police chief.
Police said the suspect admitted to having robbed the bank as he was in dire need of money to help a close friend who was heavily in debt. He claimed his friend had been asked to repay the debt by Feb 1.
Mr Rungroj refused to name the friend, and denied reports that he himself had gambling debts. All the money went to help his friend, he said.
The suspect claimed the robbery was not planned in advance and that he had never committed such an offence before. He denied any link to two earlier robberies of a TMB Bank branch in Bang Wua, in 2014 and 2015, that netted 2 million baht.
Closed-circuit footage of the KTB robbery on Jan 31 showed the perpetrator appeared to be disabled, but Pol Gen Chalermkiat said Mr Runroj was simply pretending to have a disability.
Officers are now tracing the stolen money the suspect claimed to have used to pay his friend's debt, said Pol Gen Chalermkiat.
Officers led by Pol Gen Chalermkiart Srivorakhan, deputy national police chief, question suspect Rungroj Boonprakob on Saturday. (Photo by Sonthanaporn Inchan)