BANGKOK – Dennis, a 31-year-old Norwegian, and his Thai wife, Ms. A, filed a complaint with Mr. Ekkapop Ruangprasert, the founder of the “Saimai Must Survive” Facebook group, on March 26. They stated that their possessions, including 30,000 baht in cash saved for their wedding, had been taken. He had already reported the incident, but there had been no progress.
Some people reported their cases to the Saimai Must Survive page, which shared them on social media to pressure officials to conduct an investigation.
Ms. A reported that the incident occurred on March 24, 2024, when she and her husband visited Central World to purchase rings and wedding outfits for their April 12 wedding. Following that, they waited for a bus to return home at the bus stop outside the Big C department store.
CCTV footage showed the moment a group of four thieves—one guy, two women, and one transgender woman—came across the scene. One of the members approached her and pressed against her as she was ready to get into the car. She turned around and questioned why she hadn’t gotten in the car instead of pushing her.
Less than a minute later, when she boarded the bus and went to pay with her wallet, she realised her wallet had been taken.
The stolen items were an iPhone 14 Pro Max phone, 30,000 baht in Thai money, 200 kroner in Norwegian cash, two credit cards, one debit card, and one Norwegian lottery ticket.
She and her Norwegian husband immediately proceeded to Lumpini Police Station to report the crime. The police officer instructed them to obtain proof by reviewing the CCTV footage. Because there were no police officers inside the police station at the time, they all stepped outside to do their jobs and apprehend drug dealers.
Dennis and his wife are really upset. They had to go examine for themselves the footage from the CCTV cameras at the Big C department store near the incident’s site. The camera caught all four thieves. Everyone had been following Dennis and Ms. A since they entered the mall, but the couple hadn’t noticed.
They later reported the incident to immigration officials. But the officer told them, “This could be the karma you did 100 years ago.”
The Norwegian man expressed his sadness, saying he loves Thailand and had intended to marry here. However, he never expected Thais to take such ashamed acts. He doesn’t expect the property to return to its original condition, but he begs the authorities to act fast in apprehending and punishing the criminal in order to prevent similar incidents from happening to others.
Mr. Ekaphob stated that he will hasten to communicate with the superintendent of Lumpini Police Station to help find the perpetrator and prosecute them as soon as possible.
