Robber Forgets One Tiny Detail… His Own IC, Gets Arrested Soon After
A Thai man’s attempt to rob a gold shop in Pattaya came to an embarrassingly swift end after he allegedly left behind the one thing that practically did the police’s job for them — his own identification card.
The robbery took place at around 5.45pm on July 17 at a gold shop inside a shopping centre in northern Pattaya. Police said the 34-year-old suspect escaped with a gold necklace worth more than 130,000 baht (about S$5,000).
According to shop employees, the man threatened staff, telling them to stay quiet because he “didn’t want to kill anyone”, before grabbing the jewellery and fleeing.
The Perfect Crime… Until He Forgot His Own Identity
Despite successfully running out of the shop with the necklace, the suspect apparently overlooked one rather important detail.
He accidentally dropped his identification card while making his getaway.
Instead of detectives spending days analysing CCTV footage or launching a city-wide manhunt, police simply picked up the card, identified the suspect, and went looking for him.
Security footage reportedly showed the man entering the shop dressed in black before asking to try on a gold necklace. Moments later, he allegedly threatened an employee and walked out wearing the jewellery.
Officers later tracked him to a rented room in East Pattaya, where he was arrested without much difficulty.
Necklace Sold, Gambling Debts Repaid
During questioning, the suspect admitted to the robbery.
He told investigators he had already sold the necklace to another gold shop for 117,000 baht (around S$4,500) and used most of the proceeds to repay debts, claiming around 65,000 baht (about S$2,500) remained in his bank account.
Police said the man also admitted he had borrowed money from illegal lenders before trying to recover his losses by gambling on World Cup football matches through online betting websites.
That plan, unsurprisingly, did not work out either.
He allegedly lost even more money, leaving himself in deeper debt than before.
The suspect also claimed financial pressure increased after he helped compensate victims linked to a mule account case involving his sister.
He has since been charged with robbery, while investigations are ongoing.
If there were awards for making a getaway as difficult as possible, leaving your own ID card at the crime scene would certainly be a strong contender.