Police Clarify Theft Law in Phone Dumpster Case

On September 21, police released an update on the case of Noppol Kunjor, a 39-year-old homeless LGBTQ man known as Polla, who found an iPhone 13 belonging to Augusth, a 19-year-old third-year university student from Udon Thani. The phone was discovered in a dumpster at a dormitory on Phromprakan Soi in Mak Kaeng subdistrict, Muang district, Udon Thani. The student tracked down the phone at Pho Sri market and found that Polla had removed the SIM card and was preparing to sell it. Angered, the student filed theft charges. Polla claimed she had simply found the phone in the garbage, not stolen it. She was taken to Muang Udon Thani Police Station. After the story gained attention, public opinion turned against the phone's owner, with social media users urging compassion. The owner acknowledged he had carelessly left the phone in the dumpster but became angry when Polla attempted to power it off and remove the SIM card. He initially wanted to pursue charges but later withdrew the complaint.

Lieutenant Colonel Disathawat Thawarsimpong, deputy head of investigations at Muang Udon Thani Police Station, explained the legal distinction. Generally, if someone finds discarded property that has not been searched for and considerable time passes before discovery, the charge is typically "receiving stolen property." However, if the owner actively searches and finds the person in possession of the item quickly, the charge becomes "theft" under the law. In this case, the phone owner began searching within 10 minutes of discovering it missing. Police determined that Polla's intent constituted theft despite the owner's carelessness, because the owner was actively pursuing recovery. The case qualifies as a criminal offense, though ultimately the owner chose not to press charges.