Woman charged with stealing chairs from stadium claims mental illness
A 34-year-old woman who stole chairs from a Man Utd-Liverpool match claimed that she has a mental illness and likes to collect things.
The police and Vinij Lertratanachai, CEO of match organiser Fresh Air Festival, held a press conference on Monday.
Vinij said that he found some seats and equipment had disappeared after the match and reported the matter to police at Hua Mark Police Station on Saturday. He checked the surveillance footage and found the suspect and another man were involved in the alleged theft.
He said the suspects had used transport equipment similar to those used by his staff so no one would suspect them. He also thanked the police for catching a suspect within 36 hours.
The suspect reportedly had hired a private shipping company to take those chairs to Chonburi province on Saturday.
Police found her at a building in Thung Khru district in Bangkok and seized four team chairs and 13 spectator chairs.
Police also seized a two-metre Jackson Wang vinyl sign and 100 pieces of cloth used for covering chairs. The total damage was estimated at around 413,000 baht.
Police said the suspect claimed that she suffered from a mental illness and liked to collect things. She reportedly told police that she had bought the ticket for the match on her own to plan how to steal the chairs.
Vinij, however, discounted her claims, arguing that she had good education and a good job. He said her behaviour was suspicious as these items were transported several times and the suspect had tried to destroy evidence. He said it needed to be investigated of if the suspect was acting at the behest of someone else.
Police charged the suspect with “committing a theft with more than two people and using a conveyance to facilitate in committing the offence, to take away such thing or escape from arrest”.
