PATTAYA: A Mongolian tourist has been arrested on charges of stealing brand-name products from a shopping mall in Pattaya by modifying his suitcase to hide the stolen items.
Security guards from the mall on Pattaya beach in Bang Lamung district took Byamba-Ochir Erdenebat, 52, to the Pattaya City police station to file a theft complaint on Friday night.
They showed officers a modified suitcase containing 12 articles of stolen brand-name clothing and two brand-name bags with a combined value of 26,000 baht.
According to the complaint, the foreign tourist entered a shop inside the mall on Friday night. He looked at products for a long time but did not buy anything. But the guards noticed that the number of products on the shelves had decreased, so they kept a closer watch on him.
As the man walked away from the shop with his wheeled suitcase, the guards and sales clerks approached and asked to search the bag, but found nothing suspicious. But the guards remained convinced that the tourist had stolen some items.
Some employees then noticed that the suitcase had been modified with a large compartment on the top covered with tape. Another bag was placed on the top of it. When they opened the compartment, they saw many items stolen from the shop. The man tried to flee but he was subsequently arrested.
A representative of the shopping mall held talks with the suspect about the stolen items, but the talks failed. He was then taken to the police station to face charges.
An officer at the Pattaya police station displays the hidden compartment the Mongolian shoplifting suspect had created in his suitcase. (Photo: Chaiyot Pupattanapong)