PATTAYA: A Russian man held on charges of stealing a computer and other items from the room of a friend begged officers not to arrest him because he had HIV, police said on Saturday.
Aftem Kuliasov, 29, was apprehended at his condominium room in Pattaya, where police seized a stolen laptop computer and other items. They also said they had not found any evidence to support the HIV claim.
Pattaya city police chief Apichai Krobphet and tourist police took the suspect for a crime re-enactment.
The arrest followed a complaint by Aleksandr Kuznetsov, 35, a Russian national, that his laptop computer and personal documents were stolen from his room at Sombat Condominium on Soi Phra Tamnak 4 in South Pattaya on Friday.
Police examined closed-circuit television video at the building and it shed light on the identity of the thief, said to be a close friend of the victim.
Officers said that Mr Kuliasov, who lived at a nearby condominium, had come to see his friend and found the room unlocked with nobody inside. He then ransacked the room before fleeing on a motorcycle with the laptop and other items, they said.
As he was being taken into custody, the suspect was heard telling officers, “Please don’t arrest me. I am infected with HIV.”
However, when police investigated further, they found no record of him having sought treatment or taking medication for HIV.
The suspect is in custody at the Pattaya city police station pending legal action.