PATTAYA, THAILAND – An Indian tourist suffered an expensive nightmare on Pattaya Beach when two thieves lured him into a trap and took his valuable gold jewelry.
Deceptive embrace on the beach
The 36-year-old Rischau Sing had been in the city for only five days on holiday. After a night out, he walked along the beachfront path toward his hotel at about 4 a.m. on Sunday.
Two people he later described as female impersonators were lying in wait. They first engaged him in friendly conversation and then suddenly threw their arms around his neck.
Gold necklace worth a fortune gone
Sing grew suspicious and tried to push the intrusive strangers away. However, he only realized in his hotel room that his valuable jewelry was missing.
The stolen gold necklace was valued at around 100,000 baht. The perpetrators used the moment of close physical contact to quietly pull the chain from his neck without being noticed.
Police hunt for gold thieves
Together with his Thai acquaintance Sunisa Pinpranee, the victim eventually went to the police for help. Officers at the Pattaya police station immediately launched a search.
Investigators were reviewing surveillance camera footage in front of a nearby shopping mall. They hoped to catch images of the suspects at the moment they struck.
Searching for familiar faces
Police had already shown the tourist photos of known petty criminals. The area had repeatedly seen similar incidents in which tourists were distracted by hugs.
If the Indian visitor identified the thieves, police said they intended to move quickly. Their goal was to recover the stolen jewelry and put the perpetrators behind bars.