SPECIAL WEB EDITION
Taxi drivers catch car thief with policeman's missing girl
An opportunist thief drove off from a Bangkok police station late on Tuesday with a police sergeant's pickup, without knowing that the officer's sixyearold daughter was asleep in the back.
The theft took place some time between 9pm and 10:30pm at the Lad Krabang Police Station. But it was not until 3am yesterday that more than 100 taxidrivers were involved in their collective heroism by tracking down the 25year-old thief. They spotted him driving the stolen vehicle in Nonthaburi.
The girl was rescued unharmed, apparently not knowing what she had gone through during the fierce hunt for her captor. She slept well during the ordeal, while her captor drove her all the way from Lad Krabang to Prachaniwet, to Ngarm Wongwarn before he was stopped Tiwanon 11, Nonthaburi. The whole distance was about 50 kilometres.
"I was looking for a passenger around Soi Ngarm Wong Wan 18 when I noticed a pickup with a description matching the one stolen," said Somsak Okkaew, a 34yearold taxi driver.
Somsak heard the report about the stolen vehicle from Jor Sor 100, the popular traffic radio station.
Cabbie Somsak chased after thief Tewa Parnses, as did many other taxis. When the pickup went past the Kae Lai intersection and turned left in the direction of Sanam Bin Nam, a taxi driver cut in front of it.
"When I cut my vehicle in front, I was also thinking in my head of what I would do if the thief pulled out a gun and shot me. Still, my wish to help the girl and arrest the thief was so strong," said taxi driver Prasert Chairatleetrakoon, 57.
By the time Nonthaburi police arrived, at the entrance to Soi Tiwanont 11, more than 100 taxis had surrounded the stolen car.
Tewa attempted to flee the scene, but the taxi drivers helped to arrest him.
The news of his arrest and the girl's rescue brought joy to Sergeant Akradej Makasen and his wife Pathumwan.
"I will never leave my daughter in a vehicle again," Akradej said.
Tuesday looked like any other evening for pickup owner Akradej at first. He finished his shift at Lat Krabang station in the evening, but parked his pickup there because he needed to help his wife, who runs a food stall just metres away.
At around 9pm, he carried his beloved daughter - Orawee or "Namfon" - back to his pickup. He started the engine, switched on the air conditioner and let her sleep. But he did not lock the car.
But when he returned to the station at around 10.30pm, Namfon and his pickup were gone.
"At first, I thought someone was pulling my leg. I thought it must have been a joke," Akradej said.
His heart sank when his colleagues and relatives insisted that they did not know where his daughter and his vehicle had gone.
"I lodged a complaint with police. I was so worried about my daughter. I had left my loaded gun in the pickup, too," he said.
Speaking after his arrest, Tewa said he did not know the vehicle belonged to a policeman and he did not know there was a girl inside when he stole the car.
"It's simply that the motorcycle I was riding ran out of petrol in front of the police station. When I looked around, I saw the pickup was unlocked and its engine was running. So I decided to get in," he said.
Tewa, who was once a noodle seller in Chachoengsao's 100yearold market, had borrowed his nephew's motorcycle for a trip to visit his friend, who works at a convenience store in Lat Krabang.
"I was shocked to see the police uniform and the girl in the vehicle. I was planning to drive the vehicle to visit a relative," he said.
He said he had never committed a crime before.
Tewa is now facing charges of stealing property from a government compound at night and illegally detaining a minor.
- "I will never leave her in the car again," Akradej
- Jor Sor 100 a big help in finding girl
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