BANGKOK — Phaholyothin police officers arrested a man Saturday morning who claimed to have robbed a taxi because of “orders inside his head.”
Phaholyothin police officers were reported the robbery of an orange taxi at 1:30am on Saturday. Theppitak Taptong, the 31-year-old driver, told officers that he picked up a passenger from Ngamwongwan Road to Vibhavadi Hospital. However, the man refused to leave the vehicle upon reaching the destination and threaten the driver to continue driving after making his way to the front seat. Theppitak, afraid of the consequences, jumped out of the vehicle and called 191.
“The robber yelled ‘Yo, drive! Don’t stop, don’t cut off the engine,’ and the taxi driver sensed that the man had a knife with him. That is why he decided to flee from the vehicle,” Phaholyothin police chief Col. Narush Moolasartsathron said.
Thanks to the vehicle’s GPS, police officers tracked down the taxi until they reached the suspected car thief’s apartment in Soi Ram Inthra 21. Yodchai Meepong, 29, was subsequently arrested. He was unarmed.
Police said Yodchai confessed and claimed to have heard a voice in his head commanding him to commit the robbery, adding that the voice ceased after he stole the taxi.
Police said they charged Yodchai with theft.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the rank of Phaholyothin police chief Narush Moolasartsathron. He is a colonel in the force and not a general.
