Burglar steals 100m baht in luxury watches from Chonburi mansion
Police launch manhunt after thief cracks safe at high-end Chinese enclave in Bang Lamung, east of Pattaya
A burglar broke into the luxury Chonburi home of a young Chinese businessman, cracked open a safe and stole luxury watches worth over 100 million baht on Wednesday.
Police and forensic investigators were dispatched to a house in Bang Lamung district on Thursday after receiving a report that high-value items worth millions of baht had gone missing.
The crime occurred at a two-story detached house at a high-end complex in Hua Yai, east of Pattaya. A black safe on the second floor had been forced open. Scattered across the room were eight luxury watch boxes, each capable of holding 10 timepieces.
Investigators found a windowpane at the rear of the house had been forced open and dislodged. They collected evidence and fingerprints.
Police questioned Yu Chao Chao, 43, a Chinese national who appeared visibly shaken and said he was looking after the house while the owner was away in China. Yu revealed that the house belongs to Wang Liang Chen, 39, a Chinese businessman operating a tour company business in Thailand.
Yu told police that he and his family had left the house to run errands between 3pm and 9pm on Wednesday. He said they returned to find a back window of the house open. He then went upstairs to a second-floor bedroom and discovered that the safe had been broken into. Scattered around were empty watch boxes.
The business partner of the homeowner, Somboon, 56, told police that Wang is currently unable to return to Thailand due to an ongoing legal case in China.
Somboon said he had spoken with Wang, who told him that the safe had contained mainly luxury watches from well-known brands, estimating their value at over 100 million baht.
Police collected evidence, including CCTV footage from cameras installed inside the house.
Yu, the house-sitter, has also been called in for further questioning, while authorities have contacted Wang in China to compile an inventory of the stolen items.
A security guard at the complex revealed that its two-storey pool houses are priced from 10 million baht and most of the owners are Chinese nationals.
Police believe the burglar entered the property after climbing over its back wall, which borders a forested area.
