Man Arrested for Stealing Temple Donation Box, Squandering Funds on Online Gambling
A 34-year-old man was arrested at a Bangkok temple after admitting he stole a donation box and lost the money to online gambling, then returned to commit the same crime again.
On July 28, 2026, Pol. Col. Anant Worasart, superintendent of Bang Khen Police Station, ordered officers including Pol. Lt. Col. Kosalpicha Seema and Pol. Lt. Col. Yuranun Phetmani to arrest Thanesheet, age 34, at Siri Phongsa Tammanimita Temple on Sukaphipat 4 Road, Tamraeng subdistrict, Bang Khen district, Bangkok.
The arrest followed an incident on July 19 at 3:05 a.m., when a suspect broke into the school building inside the temple and stole a donation box. Security footage showed a man wearing a white shirt and black pants prying open the donation box, stealing money, and escaping by scaling the temple wall and jumping into a taxi.
On July 27 at 8:30 p.m., officers received a tip that a man matching the suspect's description was loitering inside the temple. Upon investigation and questioning, Thanesheet admitted to stealing the donation box in the first incident and spending all the money on online gambling. Overwhelmed by guilt, he had returned to the temple to steal the donation box again from the same location, but was apprehended by police before he could escape a second time. He was initially charged with nighttime theft and handed over to Bang Khen Police Station for further legal proceedings.
