A 72-year-old Thai woman working in South Korea was shocked to see her son and his friend allegedly stealing household belongings from her home in Udon Thani after checking its CCTV system remotely.
The woman video-called her 20-year-old granddaughter, the suspect’s daughter, and told her to report the incident to police, who subsequently arrested the son, ‘Warakorn’, 39, and his friend, ‘Pichairat’, 38, on suspicion of stealing property from the house on Saturday.
The granddaughter told police that her father and his friend had repeatedly stolen and sold items from the family home, using the proceeds to pay off debts and buy methamphetamine.
Speaking to police via video call, the grandmother said she had continued to support her son despite being 72 and having to work abroad to send money home.
She said she regularly gave him 500 to 1,000 baht, but he had failed to change his behaviour and continued causing problems for his daughter, who had become afraid to stay at home.
She told police she wanted the case to be pursued to the fullest extent of the law.
The granddaughter said her parents had separated when she was young and that she had been responsible for looking after the house after her grandmother left for South Korea.
Her father later returned from Bangkok and brought his friend to stay with him. The two then allegedly began stealing household belongings, including a motorcycle, a large refrigerator, a gas cylinder, an air conditioner and wooden tables and chairs.
They also broke into her bedroom and took her television to sell. Feeling unsafe, she eventually moved out and rented accommodation elsewhere.
She said she was deeply saddened by the situation because her family had repeatedly given her father chances to change.
Meanwhile, during questioning by police, Warakorn admitted to the thefts. He said they sold two televisions for 4,000 baht, a refrigerator for 2,500 baht and an air conditioner for 2,500 baht.
They used some of the money to repay a debt to a friend and spent the rest on methamphetamine.
Police also found that Warakorn had previously been convicted in connection with a mule-account case and served one year and six months in prison before returning to live at the house.
Both men tested positive for drugs in urine tests.
