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Police on holiday youth patrol

Published on May 8, 2003, The Nation

Population of offenders being held in 10 stations spirals during school holidays

The number of youth gang offenders held in 10 police stations in western Bangkok has more than doubled during the two-month school holidays, police said yesterday.

Most of the children arrested are aged from nine to 15. They robbed victims and used the money to buy drugs, play video games and on going out, police said.

Metropolitan Police Bureau 9 said that since the beginning of the year, it had arrested 800 children for crimes ranging from robbery, pick-pocketing and bag-snatching to extortion, said Colonel Chatcharin Sawangwong, superintendent of Phasi Charoen police station.

Bureau 9 covers the Tha Kam, Bang Khunthien, Phasi Charoen, Lak Song, Nong Khaem, Petchkasem, Nong Kang Plu, Bang Bon, Samae Dam and Thien Tale police stations.

Chatcharin was speaking following the arrest of a 15-year-old boy, held for allegedly robbing another boy at Future Park Bang Kae.

The 14-year-old victim, Sinsamut Wisuthsathong, told police on Monday that three boys had pushed him into a karaoke box and repeatedly hit him in the face before running away with his mobile phone.

Police on Tuesday night raided a house in Kwang Bang Wa in Pasi Charoen district and arrested B (not his real name). B had allegedly conspired with four other boys to snatch a gold necklace from a shopper at the same department store last month.

Undercover police yesterday arrested another suspect at the department store.

Chatcharin said young offenders were committing more serious crimes and at younger ages. "In the past, young people only brawled and took drugs. Now they rob and assault people," he added.

Lt-Colonel Santi Siriwattanpornkul, deputy superintendent of Pasi Charoen police station, said youth gangs would approach a victim who had a gold necklace or cell phone and tell them that their friends wanted to talk to them. They then lead the victims to an isolated area such as a parking lot and attack them.

"The victims are also young and are boys and girls. Sometimes they get to know female victims through the Internet. They go to see a movie together and borrow the girl's mobile phone, saying they have to make an urgent call but their phone has no signal, and then they disappear with the phone," he said.

Major Kanchon Intararam, an inspector at Lat Phrao police station, said that early yesterday morning police arrested a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old who snatched valuables from people at bus stops and on the Happy Land Road flyover while riding bicycles. They were part of a gang of six, but the other four escaped.

The two said they had been on four other robbing sprees previously.

Sumalee Hanpanyapichit,

Benjawan Somsin

The Nation