Pickpockets preying on foreign tourists

CHIANG MAI -- Pickpockets lifted cash and mobile phones from at least nine foreign tourists watching the lantern parade marking the annual Yi Peng Festival in this tourist city on Tuesday night, police said.

Pol Maj Thanongsak Chanchuakaew, the duty officer of Muang Chiang Mai police station, said as of 9pm he had received complaints from nine tourists from the United States, South Korea, China and Japan.

The pickpockets stole cash and mobile phones worth more than 100,000 baht in total, he said.

Some of the tourists said they had noticed three or four men standing close to them while their attention was focussed on the lantern parade. Police dialled their numbers but the phones had been turned off.

Pol Col Veerayuth Prasopchokchai, the Muang Chiang Mai police chief, said police were checking low-cost hotels and dormitories often frequented by known thieves as part of crime prevention measures during the Loy Krathong celebrations.



