10 homes in housing estate hit by man seen stripping down to his underwear

A lone man is seen in CCTV footage breaking into a house at the Tharasiri@central housing estate in Muang district of Surat Thani. (Photo taken from Surat Thani Facebook page)

SURAT THANI: A burglar broke into 10 neighbouring houses in Muang district of this southern province in a single night, unnerving residents who learned that in at last one home, he stripped down to his underwear while he prowled about.

Thakorn Phromchan posted a message on the Surat Thani Facebook page on Saturday to warn residents at the Tharasiri@central housing estate in tambon Wat Pradu about the break-ins.

Mr Thakorn, 35, said that he, his wife and their two daughters were sleeping in their bedrooms on the second floor of their house on the night of June 2 when the break-in occurred. They were unaware that someone was downstairs and walking around dressed only in his underwear.

He said he only became aware of the intrusion the next day when he noticed a cloth covering a computer keyboard was missing. He then checked his security video which showed a thin, middle-aged man using a sharp object to force open a window at 2.54am on June 2.

Security video catches the burglar undressing while inside one of the homes he broke into. (Photo from Surat Thani Facebook page)

The video showed the man stripping down to his underwear before ransacking rooms on the first floor of the house in search of items to take. He then went upstairs to a room where the homeowner kept Buddha statues and amulets. After that, the man went downstairs and left. Mr Thakorn later filed a complaint with police at the Muang district station.

When he told his neighbour about the incident, he learned that a thief, believed to be the same person, had broken into a total of 10 houses on the same night. One house reported a two-baht weight of gold stolen, he added.

The nature of the break-ins and the burglar’s odd behaviour have left residents nervous that he might attempt to enter more homes, residents said.