A 63-year-old Thai woman has appealed for help after losing more than 300,000 baht in cash and gold items during a theft at a hospital in Khon Kaen, with the investigation showing limited progress months after the incident.
Sompong Sriwiwat became emotional while speaking to the media, saying the stolen money and valuables were accumulated through years of savings and held significant personal value.
The incident happened at Khao Suan Kwang Hospital at about 4am on March 3, while Sompong was receiving treatment after suffering chest tightness related to asthma and hypertension.
She said doctors advised her to remain in the hospital for three to four days for monitoring, while her husband stayed nearby during her admission but slept in an area provided for relatives.
Sompong said she was heavily asleep after taking medication on the night of March 2. When she woke up the next morning, she discovered that her bag, which had been placed on a cabinet beside her hospital bed, was missing.
The bag reportedly contained cash, a gold necklace with a Buddhist amulet, a gold bracelet and a mobile phone, with the total value of the stolen items estimated at more than 300,000 baht.
Following her report, police from Khao Suan Kwang Police Station reviewed CCTV recordings from the hospital ward. The footage showed a man entering the ward, taking the bag and leaving the building.
The suspect was seen wearing a black T-shirt, long jeans, trainers, a hat and a face mask, making identification more difficult for investigators.
Police later found the abandoned bag outside the hospital near the direction of Friendship Highway, but only Sompong’s mobile phone was left inside.
Khao Suan Kwang Police Station superintendent Peeranat Ngamlertrattanachai said authorities had not ignored the case and had questioned hospital staff and patients who were present at the time, although no witnesses had directly seen the theft.
He said CCTV footage showed the suspect, believed to be a man aged between 40 and 50 years old and around 170cm tall, walking around the ward before taking Sompong’s belongings.
Investigators have also coordinated with police in nearby districts after similar theft cases were reported at other hospitals in the province.
Peeranat said identifying the suspect remains the biggest challenge in the investigation but assured that police are continuing efforts to track down the individual responsible.
