Man in Thailand leaves car parked with engine running while visiting store, vehicle gets stolen

Man whose car was stolen after leaving it outside store with engine running was only gone for two minutes

A man in Rayong, Thailand, was left stunned when his car was stolen in broad daylight after he left the engine running while popping into a convenience store.

A clip circulating online, taken by a CCTV outside the store, shows a man in a blue shirt stepping out of a bronze pickup truck and entering the store.

Moments later, an unknown man in a black hoodie carrying a red umbrella is seen walking along the road.

Once he reaches the vehicle, he glances at the store before calmly dropping the umbrella on the trunk. He then opens the door, gets inside, and drives away.

When the owner returns from the shop, he is bewildered to find his vehicle gone.

Theft happened in less than two minutes

The incident occurred at 7.20am on Wednesday (1 Oct) while the victim was on his way to work.

Normally, he rides a motorcycle to the shop, but because it was raining that morning, he took his father’s car, intending to drive straight to work afterwards.

Seeing the rain, he did not turn the engine off before going into the shop.

The owner spent less than two minutes inside, yet by the time he came out, his car had vanished.

Following the theft, he retrieved the shop’s CCTV footage and filed a police report, according to Thailand’s Channel 7.

Police track suspect using CCTV

Investigators followed the escape route using CCTV footage and received a tip-off that the stolen pickup had been parked near a grocery store in Phanom Sarakham District, Chachoengsao Province.

Upon arrival, officers found the suspect, identified as Phaitoon (name transliterated).

They recovered the stolen vehicle, the clothes used during the theft, a cross-body bag, and the red umbrella he had used to shield himself from the rain.

Phaitoon admitted to taking the car in an attempt to evade capture. He added that he had stopped by the grocery store to buy a drink.

However, after starting the car, he discovered that the engine had malfunctioned, and he was unable to drive it further, leading to his subsequent arrest.

The perpetrator has a history of similar car thefts, having committed the same crime three times previously.

Authorities have reminded the public never to leave a vehicle running unattended, even for a brief moment, to avoid falling victim to opportunistic thieves.

Also read: Student in Thailand spots thief riding his stolen motorbike while dining, chases him & recovers it

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Featured image adapted from บอก on Facebook and Morning News on YouTube.