The timeline of the case involving a 15-year-old who robbed a gold shop in Hat Yai has been revealed. The youth told police initially that he was carrying out a mission based on advice from a friend in a game, with plans to escape across the border to meet a fellow gamer in Laos.
A 15-year-old male youth broke into a gold shop in a well-known department store in Hat Yai district, Songkhla province, at 18:36 on 3 Feb 2026. He used a hammer to smash the glass cases at the gold shop, as previously reported.
The latest update on 5 Feb 2026 reports that the timeline and motive were revealed through questioning close friends. The youth, nicknamed “Lo,” told friends that in the two days after the crime he would not be at his home in Moo 2, Khlong Rung subdistrict, Na Mom district, Songkhla. He planned to move to Bangkok.
One day before the incident, he stayed one night at a resort in Na Mom district near his home. Then, around noon on 3 Feb 2026, the day of the crime, he left the resort to buy items in the nearby 'Twenty Baht Store' to prepare for the robbery, including a hammer, socks, and a mask to conceal his face.
Around 1:00 p.m., he went to Wat Mae Pia in Na Mom district.
At 3:30 p.m., he stole a motorcycle belonging to a Myanmar construction worker parked at Wat Mae Pia, Moo 2, Na Mom subdistrict. He then drove the motorcycle to commit the robbery. Afterward, he abandoned the bike by a canal in Na Mom subdistrict. The next morning, he traveled to Hat Yai airport, flew to Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok, and took a bus from Mo Chit station to Ubon Ratchathani province.
The stolen gold was sent via a delivery rider to a friend’s apartment on Soi 4, Niphon Songkhro Road 5, Hat Yai district, Songkhla. The gold was placed inside a detergent powder bag, covered with a black shirt, and then put into a woman’s handbag.
Police recovered 30 baht of the stolen gold, missing 3 baht. Authorities are investigating what happened to the missing 3 baht—whether it was sold or otherwise disposed of—and the intended final use and destination of all the gold. The youth will be returned to Songkhla province for legal proceedings.
Police Chief Pol Gen Kittirat Phanphet stated that investigations are ongoing to determine if anyone helped or was behind the youth, who is a minor. The suspect acted alone during the crime but fled from Songkhla to Ubon Ratchathani afterward. It is believed he may have planned to flee the country. Police suspect possible accomplices, whether friends or instigators, but so far no assistance in the escape has been found. The suspect claims he has friends in Ubon Ratchathani, which is why he fled there.
Meanwhile, reports from the suspect’s interrogation reveal that the motive stemmed from playing a certain game. He spoke with a Laotian friend in the game who suggested carrying out a gold robbery mission. After succeeding, the plan was to leave the gold with someone and then send it to Laos. After the robbery, he parked the stolen motorcycle, taken from the Myanmar worker, at his home in Khuan Chong, Na Mom subdistrict, then called a ride-hailing vehicle via an app to take him to Hat Yai International Airport. From there, he flew to Don Mueang International Airport.
The next morning, he took a bus from Mo Chit 2 Bus Terminal to Ubon Ratchathani Bus Terminal, aiming to continue to Khemarat district and cross the border to meet his fellow gamer friends in Laos.