CHON BURI – A Russian couple and a Chinese tourist fell victim to thieves who snatched their gold necklaces in separate incidents in Pattaya city on the weekend.
Andrei Ananev, 40, and his Russian wife sustained minor injuries after giving chase to snatch thieves on a motorcycle, said Pol Col Apichai Krobphet, chief of Pattaya police. The robbery was reported at around a half past midnight on Sunday.
The couple told police they were travelling on a motorcycle on Pattaya-Na Klua Road in Bang Lamung district when two men on another motorcycle rode beside them. The pillion rider suddenly snatched a gold necklace worth some 60,000 baht from Mr Ananev and fled. This prompted the Russian man to give chase.
On the way, it started raining and this caused the road to become slippery. The Russian tourist said he lost control of his bike and hit another motorcycle stopped at red traffic lights. His bike fell, causing him and his wife to be slightly hurt. They ended the pursuit and alerted police. Only a piece of the stolen gold necklace was left.
A Chinese tourist, wearing a gold necklace, poses for a selfie before being robbed by two transgender women in Pattaya on Saturday night. (Photo by Chaiyot Pupattanapong)
A patrol police team was dispatched to hunt down the fleeing robbers. They radioed to their fellow officers to block the thugs at possible escape routes, but there was no trace of them.
On Saturday night, Yang Jinsheng, 30, a Chinese tourist who was visiting Pattaya for the first time, was robbed of a gold necklace by a transgender woman while walking in front of a hotel on Pattaya Sai Song Road, said Pol Col Apichai. The theft was reported at around 9.30pm.
The thief fled on a waiting motorcycle ridden by another transgender woman. The necklace was worth about 20,000 yuan (104,000 baht).
Mr Yang said he and his friends were visiting Thailand for the first time and he was sad to encounter the snatch theft. He urged police to urgently catch the thieves.
Police stepped up a hunt, but failed to find the suspects. They were examining footage of a closed circuit camera to find clues to the thieves.
A group of Chinese tourists tell police of how one of them was robbed of a gold necklace in Pattaya on Saturday night. (Photo by Chaiyot Pupattanapong)