Photo Courtesy of Khaosod
CHONBURI - At 02.00a.m. on August 28th, police major general Sirisak Wongwiwat and fellow officers arrested Bird (assumed name) 14-years-old, Frank (assumed name) 15-years-old, and Ton (assumed name) 16-years-old at an unidentified game store in Bangpra district.
Police officers were informed by Mr. Rungarun Aiemsawat, 42-years-old that while he was sleeping on the first floor of his two-storey home, 1,000 baht disappeared from his desk. A further 90,000 baht was missing from his Pajama pockets. Mr. Rungarun asked around the neighborhood, and people said that at 01.00a.m. three teenagers riding Suzuki motorbikes, had parked near his house. The kids had come from houses nearby. Mr. Rungarun informed police of the suspicious circumstances.
When the police went in search of the kids, none of them were home. They later learned that the kids were online games addicts and played day and night at a game store in Bangpra; their favorite rendezvous. The officers set up a surveillance team around the game store and waited for hours before the kids finished playing. When they came out, they were taken into custody. Shaken, the kids admitted to stealing Mr. Rungarun’s money by climbing into the house through a window. At first they stole 1,000 baht to invest in gaming and snacks. When they ran out, they decided to go back for more. The second time round, they stole 90,000 baht, dividing 10,000 each, and leaving the rest in a nearby forest. Mr. Rungarun was sound asleep while this happened, said one of the boys.
The police later dug up 66,700 baht in cash from the forest, which had been planted in the ground by the kids. They also admitted to stealing money from the house on many other occasions but never such a large sum. Every time they stole the money, Mr. Rungarun was deep asleep and didn’t hear a thing. The stolen money was invested in online game items such as swords and avatars, and for snacks like potato chips to accompany their habits. The kids admitted to their addiction to games, saying they played for hours day and night. “We needed the money to continue the journey, the world of games was waiting for us, we just wanted to play so badly,” said one of the kids.
Courtesy of Khaosod
Writer: Adrian Tse & Chet Chetchotisak
Posts
