Callous thief who preyed on handicapped lottery ticket sellers arrested

Police in Bangkok have announced the arrest of a mean thief who has been preying on handicapped lottery ticket vendors in the capital.

In the latest case a man approached a vendor in a wheelchair outside the temple of Wat Mahabut in Onnut Soi 7 saying he wanted to buy 499 tickets, Sanook reported.

He claimed he was a lay employee working as a driver for Buddhist teachers inside the temple in order to gain the confidence of the seller called Nikorn.

Sompong, 37, then wheeled him into the temple on the pretext of getting the money and asking the monks their advice about the best numbers.

Once at the monks quarters he stole the tickets and ran off. Sompong then went to a lottery ticket trader at the Khok Wua intersection and sold the tickets for 32,400 baht.

But the trader who had heard about the theft got suspicious and called in the police who arrested Sompong in Lat Prao Soi 96 yesterday.

Sompong was paraded for the press yesterday. Also in attendance was the wheelchair bound lottery seller and the head of the metropolitan police Lt Gen Sanit Mahathavorn.

The thief said that he targeted sellers in wheelchairs because he could easily run away. He admitted to doing this 6 times before and

netting a total of 200,000 for his crimes.

He said he spent the money on booze and women.

Thai Visa / Sanook

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