Suspect targeted rooms of Malaysian tourists in Hat Yai and is also linked to thefts in Krabi and Phuket
PUBLISHED : 1 Aug 2024 at 15:19
HAT YAI – A 26-year-old Belgian man has been arrested on charges of stealing cash and valuables from the hotel rooms of three Malaysian tourists in the main city of Songkhla province. He is also suspected of burglaries in two other southern tourist provinces.
A combined team of immigration officers, local police and tourist police arrested the man during a raid on a hotel room in Songkhla on Thursday, said Pol Col Chinnawut Tangwonglert, chief of the Songkhla immigration office.
The arresting team found 1,000-baht banknotes amounting to 52,000 baht in cash, five mobile phones, two watches, two Malaysian credit cards and other items worth about 200,000 baht in all. The officers believed all of the items were stolen.
The arrest followed complaints from three Malaysian tourists who had been staying at a hotel in downtown Hat Yai. Police discovered that the Belgian suspect was staying at the same hotel at the time.
Hotel staff told investigators that the suspect could not communicate in Thai and claimed his passport had been lost. He then left the hotel.
The arresting team later received a tip-off from staff at another hotel in Muang district of Songkhla that the suspect had checked in there.
During the arrest, the suspect identified as Abdelali Chadlaoui initially denied any involvement and began to cry. He claimed he had just came to visit the province and had not stolen anything.
Police followed up with the three Malaysian tourists, who confirmed that the items the officers recovered belonged to them.
A subsequent check showed the suspect was believed to have stolen cash and valuables from hotel rooms in Krabi and Phuket. He was also found to have overstayed his visa by 63 days.
The suspect was initially charged with overstaying his visa. Investigators plan to contact other tourists who had reported thefts to gather more evidence to press theft charges.
He was handed over to the Muang district police station in Songkhla for legal action.