Police Hunt Woman Who Stole Kathin Donation Money
A woman stole approximately 10,000 baht from a Kathin donation tree belonging to Municipality School 4 during a merit-making ceremony at Wat Phothawas in Surat Thani on November 8. The suspect, captured on CCTV, fled before temple officials could apprehend her. Police have been notified and are actively searching for the thief.
Police are hunting for a female imposter, approximately 45 years old, who joined a Kathin merit-making ceremony before exploiting the temple's procedure of collecting Kathin trees for counting to steal nearly 10,000 baht from Municipality School 4 and then disappear. On November 8, 2026, reporters revealed the imposter attended the Kathin ceremony and stole the money around 11:30 AM inside the Kathin event at Wat Phothawas, Tambon Talat, Mueang District, Surat Thani Province. Closed-circuit cameras captured the imposter's image while the temple announced for donors to bring their Kathin trees to offer, then take them to count the money and hand it to the temple committee. The imposter is described as a woman around 45 years old, wearing a white knee-length dress with short sleeves, hair in a bun, a mask covering her face, approximately 155 cm tall, slim build, carrying a black bag. She entered, took the Kathin tree of Municipality School 4 (Wat Phothawas), removed the money from the event area, and fled. The amount is estimated at around 10,000 baht during the Kathin money counting. After the incident, officials joined the abbot to examine CCTV footage and searched within the temple grounds and the front area but did not find her. It is believed she has already escaped from the temple. Consequently, a report was filed with police officers to track and arrest the suspect for legal proceedings.
