100,000-baht reward offered for information on two Lao gold shop robbers

Chiang Rai provincial police have offered a 100,000 baht reward for anyone who provides information leading to the arrests of two Laotians who escaped back to Laos after robbing a gold shop in a mall in Chiang Khong district of nearly 2kg of gold ornaments (184-baht weight), estimated at about 13 million baht on Tuesday.

The robbers escaped on a rented motorcycle, which was found abandoned on the bank of the Mekong River. They then boarded a ferry back to Laos.

After having examined CCTV footage from along their escape route, and with the help of witness accounts, police managed to identify one of the suspects as Somsai Thipwan and have sought an arrest warrant.

Thai police are also coordinating with their Laotian counterparts in Bokeo province in an effort to track down and arrest Somsai.

Meanwhile, in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima, Suthep Natthakarnkanok, president of the Gold Traders Association, said that two gold shop robberies have been reported in the province this year. One in January in Muang district and the other in Chokechai district, when a Chinese man smashed a display case with a hammer and snatched some gold ornaments. All the suspected robbers in the two provinces were eventually arrested by the police.

He said that security at all about 100 gold shops in the province has been strengthened with direct connections to the police.