Homeless man arrested for shadowing policeman, sneaking into condo

A homeless man has been arrested for allegedly shadowing a police inspector in Bangkok and sneaking into his condo room eight times, though without stealing valuables.

Investigators from the Metropolitan Police Bureau said the suspect shadowed the inspector for more than 10 days. Police said the case was quite puzzling because although the suspect searched through the room, he did not steal anything of value.

The suspect was identified as Manaswin (surname withheld), 25, from Bangkok’s Bang Bon district. He was arrested in a plantation in Tambon Hom Seen of Chachoengsao’s Bang Pakong district on Saturday after he allegedly entered the condo room of the police inspector for the last time on June 27.

Police checked footage of a condominium security camera in Bang Khae district and found that Manaswin had entered the condo room of the police inspector eight times from June 17 to June 27 by using an electronic key card the police officer stored in his condo mailbox.

Investigators also learned that the suspect shadowed the police officer for some 10 days without his knowledge.

The police inspector, who asked not to be named, realised his room was entered only at 9pm on July 27 when he returned from work. He noticed that some of his belongings were moved and some inexpensive items were missing.

He checked the security camera’s footage and found that a man entered his room for five minutes before he left.

The police inspector filed a complaint with Phetkasem police station and a subsequent investigation found that the inspector was followed stealthily by the suspect for about 10 days and his room had been entered eight times. 

The investigation found that the suspect was a homeless man who often slept at bus stops or inside petrol stations.

Police later obtained an arrest warrant against the suspect but the manhunt took more than a month as he disappeared from Bangkok before police learned he was in Chachoengsao.

After his arrest, Manaswin said he was unemployed so he became homeless and slept on the street. He said he was not hired by anyone to shadow the inspector and did not intend to steal anything.

He said he went to the condo often and noticed that the police inspector liked to store his key card in the mailbox, so he used the card to enter the room only to rest briefly.

He said he fled to Chachoengsao after he noticed that the policeman learned of the intrusion.