Two Russian men filed complaints with the police after nearly 140,000 baht disappeared from safety boxes in a hotel in Pattaya. Investigating officers reported there is no traces of the thief because the hotel’s CCTV cameras were all broken.
The two Russian men, Natalina Chernova and Oleg Gipke, filed a complaint at Mueng Pattaya Police Station on Saturday, January 7 and Sunday, January 8. They said they kept their money in the hotel’s safety boxes near Khao Phra Tamnak.
The pair went out to enjoy Pattaya’s attractions but returned to discover that some of their money was stolen.
Chernova reported that he had about US$19,000 (638,000 baht) in cash and kept it in his hotel room safety box but only US$4,000 (134,000 baht) disappeared. Gipke said he kept US$5,000 cash (180,000 baht) in the safety box but only US$1,000 (34,000 baht) was gone.
Police checked security cameras nearby the tourists’ rooms, however, the cameras were broken.
Hotel staff informed the officers that only a maid could get into guests’ rooms and each maid insisted that they were innocent.
Police told the media that this was considered a serious case because it destroyed the reputation of Pattaya.
The investigating officer promised the Russian tourists that they would gather evidence and arrest the suspects as soon as possible.
This isn’t an isolated case.
There has been a spate of robberies in Pattaya over the past few months.
On Friday, a burglar snatched almost 100,000 baht from a Hong Kong tourist’s rented Pattaya villa on Friday night, according to the victim. The victim’s villa is located in Jomtien Beach.
In November, two Pattaya thieves snatched valuables from Thai and Dutch tourists at a hotel. The thieves stole 4,000 baht in cash from the Dutch victim.
Meanwhile, the thieves snatched the Thai victim’s purse, which contained 500 baht in cash, and a smartphone worth 5,000 baht. – The Thaiger
