(25 November) A pair of foreigners has been arrested by police in Pattaya on the suspicion of stealing from an organiser of a university badminton team.
Ms. Maneenet Weerarattanamanee, 36, a lecturer of Assumption University in Bangkok, told police she was leading her college′s badminton team to compete in the MMOA Pattaya Badminton Sawasdee 2013 Championship and had been staying at Siam View Hotel in the seaside town.
According to Ms. Maneenet, she spent less than 5 minutes in the restroom and realised later that her purse and belongings including 18,000 baht in cash were gone.
The CCTV camera footage revealed that a foreign couple, later identified as Mr. Mohamed Meghraoui, an Algerian national, and Ms. Leila Boukazza, a French national, had been knocking the doors of hotel rooms, checking which room was deserted. When there was no response from Ms. Maneenet′s room, the pair was seen entering the room and leaving shortly afterwards.
Police then made the arrest at their residence at Daeng Apartment in Pattaya.
It is reported that during the arrest, the suspects had thrown out Ms. Maneenet’s purse from their window. Police has also found a yellow polo shirt which Mr. Megharaoui wore during the scene recorded in the CCTV camera.
The suspects denied the charge, but police said they had clear evidence against the couple. Further investigation is pending.
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