Theft of life-saving machines latest scandal for Thai police

Spokesman Maj-General Artchayon Kraithong said 27 out of the 262 defibrillators received for installation throughout Bangkok have been stolen. The stolen machines are worth 1.8 million baht.

He admitted the AED machines had been stolen after media reports said they were being sold online.

The spokesman told a press conference that the Royal Thai Police signed a memorandum of understanding with the Thai Red Cross on August 25 last year to receive 262 AED machines from the charity for installation throughout the capital.

AEDs can be used to resuscitate people suffering from heart conditions.

The AED machines were purchased by the Thai Red Cross and it still owns them because not all of them have been installed yet, Artchayon said.

Lt Gen Thiti Saengsawang, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau – which is in charge of the AED project – has instructed all police stations to search for the AED thieves.

Police stations where AED machines were stolen in the areas they serve and protect, must first register the thefts and then investigate as soon as possible, Thiti said.