Airport workers arrested for stealing from passenger bags

Police and the airport’s security director, Kittipong Kittikhajorn, named the suspects as Sitthichai Sae-tiew, 24, and Piyapong Juisuwan, 28, who were outsourced workers with the Bangkok Flight Services baggage handling company.
They were caught stealing passengers’ valuables while loading luggage onto a Malaysia-bound plane on July 22, police said. 
The stolen items were 10,000 Chinese yuan (about Bt49,600), 56 Turkmenistan manat banknotes (worth about Bt535), a Daniel Wellington wristwatch, a pair of Visum sunglasses and a pair of Aviation sunglasses. 
Police said a security guard, Natthapon Thammarat, saw Sitthichai pull something out of a passenger’s bag and put it into his pants pocket, while Piyapong served as a lookout. The guard confronted the men and a body search found the stolen cash. The duo were sent to police and airport security personnel for further action. A subsequent search of their rented room found the other stolen items. 
Sitthichai, who had worked for the company for just five months, confessed that they had stolen valuables from the unlocked bags of outbound passengers on five occasions before being caught.
He said they learned the trick by observing a previous theft by a senior worker who was then fired for the crime. Sitthichai claimed that workers were not normally searched when leaving after their shifts, so it was possible for them to smuggle items. 
Kittipong said he would gather further information about the case and report to airport executives on ways to prevent a reoccurence of the crime. He also said the guard would receive a reward.