Yanawa police received a theft report involving a mentally ill man who stole a bag of food worth only a few hundred baht. However, the owner insists on pressing charges. The family admits to being at a loss, despite officers' efforts to mediate.
At 23:40 on 17 Feb, Police Lieutenant Colonel Chatchai Pornchawalit-hiran, patrol supervisor at Yanawa Police Station, along with officers Lieutenant Anuchit Jaikla and patrol officers Suttichart Thammaphipalakul, Worathep Temsirirat, Sutthirak Petchrat, and Thanachot Maka, arrested 34-year-old Mr. Yo on charges of nighttime theft using a vehicle. Confiscated evidence included a Turbo brand bicycle and a white plastic handle bag containing three food items: ramen (without pickled ginger) priced at 123 baht, Paitan Chashumen (separate vegetables) at 125 baht, and six pieces of gyoza costing 88 baht.
Yanawa patrol officers received a radio call to investigate a theft after Mr. Apichat (surname withheld) reported he was the victim. He said a thief stole a bag of ordered food delivered by a rider at 17:45 on 17 Feb. The bag was hung on the fence in front of his house on Charoenkrung Road, Silom subdistrict, Bang Rak district, Bangkok. CCTV footage showed the suspect wearing a red T-shirt with yellow patterns, black shorts, short schoolboy haircut, riding a blue bicycle, suspiciously circling near the house before grabbing the bag hung on the bike’s handlebar and fleeing.
After receiving the suspect's description, officers spread out to search nearby streets. They found Mr. Yo riding a bicycle on Chan Road heading towards Nang Linchi Road, near the Chan and Charoen Rat intersection by the Chan expressway entrance in Thung Wat Don subdistrict, Sathorn district. Upon searching, they found the victim’s food bag. Comparing CCTV footage confirmed Mr. Yo as the thief.
In questioning, Mr. Yo confessed to stealing the food to eat it himself. Officers took him to the scene where the victim identified and insisted on legal action. The arrest team brought Mr. Yo and the evidence to Yanawa Police Station for prosecution. While recording the arrest, Mr. Yo refused to sign. The team contacted Ms. Namfon, the suspect’s sister, who, with their father, came to the station to be informed. Mr. Yo was held in custody pending court proceedings.
Ms. Namfon said her brother Mr. Yo has mental impairments due to frequent falls onto his head from climbing high places as a toddler around age one or two. When she asked why he stole, he said it was to eat. She admitted he had stolen food near Wat Phraya Krai Police Station before, but people knew about his condition and did not press charges. She felt sorry for their father, who cried and stayed with Mr. Yo at the police station, having raised him closely since childhood.
Their father pleaded with the victim, begging not to press charges because his son is mentally ill and offered to compensate for the damage, which was only a few hundred baht. However, the victim insisted on prosecution despite officers’ attempts to mediate. The victim said, “He needs to be corrected.” The victim asked for medical evidence confirming Mr. Yo’s mental condition. The family is coordinating to obtain a hospital certificate for submission before the court hearing on 19 Feb.
“Right now, we are at a total loss and don’t know who can help.”