No Room to Punch - Dealing with Gold Thieves in the 'Gold Rush' Era

Gold prices have been continuously soaring, reaching over 70,000 baht per unit and sometimes hitting 80,000 baht, despite some fluctuations. From a crime perspective, this is a warning sign that gold theft and robbery cases may become increasingly violent. The most recent incident involved criminals breaking into a famous gold shop inside a shopping mall in the Sukhumvit 50 area late at night on January 30th. Detailed CCTV footage captured their sophisticated method, with thieves stealing 198 baht of gold worth approximately 15 million baht. The criminals carefully hid in the mall until the store closed, then entered through a partially open door during a staff gold counting process, threatening employees and stealing gold before escaping. Police and gold shop owners must analyze and prevent such crimes, as economic hardship and tempting gold prices may encourage copycat criminals. Law enforcement must increase vigilance, especially in border provinces, and citizens should avoid displaying valuable gold jewelry to prevent becoming targets.