Villagers Catch Husband-Wife Thieves Stealing Bronze Funeral Urns from Cemetery

On February 1, 2024, Theeraphong Paddengthan, the village head of Moo 2 in Khok Muang Subdistrict, Klong Hoi Khong District, Songkhla Province, led village assistants and local residents to capture thieves who were stealing bronze funeral urns from a cemetery. The suspects, Nikorn (53) from Khuan Mao Subdistrict and Rujira (36) from Na Kluea Subdistrict in Trang Province, were caught after locals spotted their Ford pickup truck (license plate ChB-8754) entering the cemetery. The couple was found with their 6 children (4 girls and 2 boys aged 2-8) and several fertilizer sacks prepared for stealing the urns. When apprehended, they confessed to driving around cemeteries and temples, scouting locations to steal bronze urns, typically returning at night with their children. Nikorn explained that despite having a rubber plantation, his daily income was low, so they resorted to stealing. They would steal over 100 urns, smash them, and sell the bronze to an old goods shop in Trang Province. They would also carelessly dump the cremation remains in various locations. The village head had planned the capture, believing the couple would return for the remaining urns, and successfully set up an ambush that led to their arrest.