Bangkok cops swoop on cabbie after drunk Japanese visitor loses Rolex, iPhone
Police acted fast to prevent damage to Thailand’s tourism image after a drunk Japanese visitor was robbed of his MacBook computer, iPhone, Rolex watch and credit card as he slept in the back of a taxi.
Nammo Hiroshi, 40, thanked Bang Khunthian police for arresting the taxi driver, named as 45-year-old Sirichai Saengamorn, and retrieving his belongings on Monday night.
Hiroshi said he was impressed with the cops’ performance and promised to return for another visit to Thailand.
Hiroshi said he arrived early this month for a trip due to last until June 19.
He told police he left a bar in Bangkok’s Asok area at 2.30am last Thursday and called a taxi to take him back to his condo room on Sukhumvit Road.
He said he was drunk and confused about directions so he got out and hailed a second taxi, driven by Sirichai, who promised to take him back to his condo.
He then dozed off in the taxi. He discovered his belongings had been stolen when he woke up in his room the next day.
The bank then alerted him that his credit card had been used twice in the Bang Khunthian area, according to the complaint filed at Bang Khunthian police station on Monday.
Police managed to track down the taxi driver to his condo room on Soi Ekkachai 40 in Bangkok’s Bang Bon district on Monday night.
They retrieved the MacBook worth 60,000 baht, an iPhone 14 Max worth 40,000 baht and the credit card from the room.
Police said Sirichai confessed to pawning Hiroshi’s Rolex watch, worth around one million baht, for 25,000 baht. Police later retrieved the watch and handed it back to its owner.
