JOMTIEN, THAILAND – A guesthouse near Pattaya reported that two alleged Chinese men rented short-time rooms at night, left without paying and took keys and keycards with them.
Guesthouse owner turns to media with CCTV footage
The owner, Ms. Wann (52), reported the incident to Thai media on the evening of 18 March and provided CCTV footage to help identify the suspects. The guesthouse was located in the Somprasong area of Nong Prue subdistrict and had a restaurant and beer bar on the ground floor.
According to the owner, the video material showed the arrival of the men and their vehicle. She hoped that public attention would pressure the guests to return the missing items.
Arrival after midnight and room agreement
At around 1:10 a.m. on 17 March, a white sedan pulled up in front of the guesthouse, according to the operator. A man in an orange shirt got out and asked for two short-time rooms.
Shortly afterwards, a second man in a white shirt followed, whom Ms. Wann described as appearing Chinese. Both allegedly agreed on a price of 200 baht per room, a total of 400 baht.
Women accompany guests to rooms
Moments later, two women left the vehicle and went upstairs to the rooms with the men, according to the owner. Ms. Wann described them as suspected companions.
She said the situation initially resembled a normal short-time rental, common in tourist areas around Pattaya. Nothing appeared unusual at first.
Pretext and escape within ten minutes
Less than ten minutes later, the man in the orange shirt came back downstairs and said he needed to get his phone from the car. Shortly afterwards, the second man followed him.
Both then got into the sedan and drove away, allegedly taking the room keys and keycards with them. No payment had been made at that point.
Companions also left without their fee
At first, Ms. Wann assumed the men would return. Then the two women came downstairs in an agitated state and asked for the men.
They reported that they had also been deprived of their agreed fee. This convinced the operator that the guests had intentionally left the property.
Owner demands return of keys and warns of police report
Ms. Wann publicly called on the two men to return the keys and keycard immediately once they saw the media reports or the video images.
“If they do not bring back the keys and keycard and do not pay, I will file a formal report for theft and non-payment.”
said Ms. Wann, the guesthouse owner.
She stated that she had already handed over CCTV footage of the arrival and the white sedan to Thai media. The images were intended to support further steps and the possible involvement of the police.