BANGKOK, May 27 (TNA) – A taxi driver has been arrested for allegedly stealing over 40 baht weight of gold, worth about two million baht, from a woman who dropped it near a bridge in the Pin Klao area on May 22.
The woman, Ms. Prairin, reported the theft to the police, stating that she lost the gold while transporting it from one gold shop to another.
Police from Bang Yi Khan station apprehended the taxi driver seen on CCTV footage picking up a bag dropped in the middle of Boromratchonni Road on the day of the incident. After arresting him this morning in the Nang Loeng area, they took him to search his home in Sathupradit.
During the arrest, the taxi driver refused to answer questions from reporters about the gold. However, police later reported that they had recovered 47 baht weight of the stolen gold. The remaining 2 baht weight was sold by the driver to a gold shop for 60,000 baht, claiming he did so to verify if the recovered gold was genuine.
The taxi driver’s wife was also called in for questioning. Police are expected to release more details about the case soon.
Meanwhile, Mr. Chaiyaporn Jariyathamanukul, the owner of the lost gold revealed he was very glad the police could track down the person who took the gold and retrieve it. Today, he prepared a gold scale to verify if all the gold is accounted for. Regarding the fact that 2 baht worth of gold was sold, he considers it a small amount and is not concerned about it.
He also expressed his curiosity about the taxi driver’s motive for not returning the gold despite the widespread news coverage. As for the 100,000 baht reward, he has to discuss the details with the police on who provided what leads.
Meanwhile, Ms. Prairin, the woman who lost the gold, also arrived at the police station. She expressed her relief at finding the gold. She stated that she had been feeling stressed and worried about the incident, fearing that she would be held responsible.
She admitted that the incident had left her shaken and that she would no longer accept requests to carry gold for customers. She also mentioned that her company now has a policy prohibiting delivering gold for customers. She clarified that this was not part of her usual job duties but she just wanted to provide convenience to customers. -819 (TNA)
