Bungling thief tries to flee gold shop only to be foiled by locked door


A CCTV camera captured the moment a bungling thief tried to flee with a gold chain only to be foiled by a locked door.

Suphachai Panthong, 27, walked into the jewellery shop in Choburi, Thailand, on November 30 and asked to try on a gold chain worth 500GBP.

He spent a minute getting comfortable with it around his neck, before suddenly turning on his heels and sprinting towards the exit.

But hapless crook Suphachai's escape was foiled after the owner Jarae Nitikarun, 41, had locked the door when he became suspicious.

Suphachai was forced to trudge back to the counter and hand back the necklace before the police arrived. He admitted attempted theft and was remanded in custody.

He told police: ''I arrived on a motorcycle and walked into the shop. I didn't have any weapons. I just wanted to make extra money because I lost my job recently.''

Sriracha district police said: ''The offender has admitted the crime. When he was showed the CCTV images he had to confess.

''There was no excuse. He tried to steal the gold jewellery but the owner had already locked the door.''