Police Arrest 65-Year-Old Man in Phayao Underwear Theft Case
Police arrested a 65-year-old man in Phayao after CCTV footage caught him stealing underwear from a dormitory dorm room; officers recovered stolen items at his home and say he confessed to multiple similar thefts.
PHAYAO — Police have arrested a 65-year-old man accused of stealing a young woman's underwear from a dormitory in Phayao province after CCTV footage identified him as the suspect.
Investigators at Muang Phayao Police Station received a complaint on 15 July 2026 from Thikamphon Chaiya, 26, from Mae Chan district in Chiang Rai province.
She reported that underwear she had hung out to dry in front of Room 7 on the second floor of Sriwan Place dormitory in Tha Wang Thong subdistrict, Muang district, had disappeared.
CCTV footage showed an elderly man entering the dormitory, taking the victim's underwear from the drying rack and leaving the premises. The footage was submitted to police as evidence.
Police investigators traced the suspect through CCTV recordings and identified him as Pleng, 65, from Dok Khamtai district in Phayao.
A search of his home uncovered a motorcycle, helmet and clothing matching those seen in the surveillance footage. Officers also found women's underwear hanging on a clothesline, while another item was being worn by the suspect.
Police said the suspect confessed to the theft and admitted he had committed similar offences on several previous occasions because of a personal fetish.
Officers seized the evidence, took the suspect to the crime scene for a reconstruction, and later transferred him to Muang Phayao Police Station for further questioning before legal proceedings.
