It actually happened to me, many years ago. A teenage neighborhood kid decided it would be fun the throw a rock through a window in my home. I have no idea why. I had never had a problem or interaction with him of any kind. I suppose it was his idea of having fun making problems for the neighborhood farang. As far as I know, he never did anything similar to anyone else.
Fortunately a neighbor witnessed it and helped me contact the police. The police officer's idea of helping me was to tell me to call the police again if I see the kid. The neighbor witness helped me and with 500 baht in tea money, now he had the kid in custody 10 minutes later. The mother came to me in tears, hoping I would allow her to pay to replace the window rather than pressing charges against her son. I accepted her offer, but told her I thought it would be nice if her son would come and apologize and explain why he would want to throw a rock through my window. That never happened. No surprise there. I did make it clear that if he ever caused me a problem again, then I will not accept an offer and I will press charges. To this day I have never seen that kid again.
The point is that it took tea money to get any action out of the police. At the time I was shocked when I was essentially told to solve the crime myself - but I have learned quite a bit since then. Again, that was many years ago. I don't know if that would be the it works today - and I hope I won't be a victim again and have to find out.
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Japanese Man Heartbroken After Being Pickpocketed on Walking Street on His First Day in Pattaya
By Adam Judd
February 21, 2025
At 12:40 AM on February 19th, 2025, Mr. Yoshiki Matsuura, a 78-year-old Japanese national, along with a Thai female friend, filed a complaint with the Deputy Chief of Investigation at Pattaya City Police Station, after being pickpocketed. The incident occurred at a building in front of Walking Street in Pattaya.
Mr. Yoshiki stated that it was his first day in Pattaya, and he was exploring the bright lights of the city. While walking past the building where the incident occurred, a Thai man approached him and started a conversation. After 5-10 minutes of walking around to enjoy the night view, Mr. Yoshiki realized that his bag had been unzipped and his belongings were gone. The stolen items included 1,400 baht in cash, two credit cards linked to a bank in Japan, and two driver’s licenses.
He immediately sought assistance from his Thai friend to file a complaint, as he urgently needed to recover his credit cards and driver’s licenses. However, after filing the complaint, he received only a copy of the police report. The investigation police at Pattaya City Police Station allegedly instructed him to contact local businesses to ask to review the CCTV footage and find evidence himself. They advised him to notify the police if he found any suspects or the perpetrator, and they would proceed with the arrest. Mr. Yoshiki, however, felt this should be the responsibility of the police and not his to do the legwork so decided to contact local media and the tourist police.
The incident occurred less than three meters away from the Pattaya Tourist Police service point. When he approached the Tourist Police for help in obtaining the CCTV footage and contacting local businesses, they allegedly directed him to file a formal complaint at Pattaya City Police Station. He expressed his frustration and urged the police to help track down the culprit and recover his belongings, stating as the victim he shouldn’t have to be the one gathering evidence, in his opinion.
https://thepattayanews.com/2025/02/21/j ... n-pattaya/
