NAKHON SI THAMMARAT: Police have identified the armed man who robbed a gold shop in Tha Sala district of necklaces worth about 500,000 baht on Tuesday, and investigators have applied for a court arrest warrant.
A police source named the suspect as Chaiwut Wethayawong, 54, and said he is being actively sought.
Pol Maj Gen Somchai Suetortrakun, chief of Nakhon Si Thammarat police, on Wednesday inspected the crime scene in Tha Sala district.
Police have already found the motorcycle believed used in the holdup, at a house in tambon Talingchan in Tha Sala. Clothes matching those worn by the robber were also found there, the suspect was not.
The Siriporn gold shop in downtown Tha Sala district was held up on Tuesday afternoon. Security camera recordings showed a lone robber wearing a crash helmet entering the shop around 2pm. He threatened employees with a gun before making off with three gold necklaces totalling 15 baht-weight.
He fled on a motorcycle in the direction of Sichon district.
It was the second gold robbery in the district this month. In the first, a lone man heldup a gold shop inside a Tesco Lotus superstore and made off with two necklaces weighing 6 baht in total. Police took less than one hour to arrest the robber, named as Supanat Phathong, 24.