A Danish woman claimed she was ‘cheated’ of THB10,000 after a European-looking man who first asked for financial help but then escaped with the money she had withdrawn from a cash machine at Tesco Lotus, a busy shopping mall in Chiang Mai, on May 18, according to local police.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons by Mattes
The victim, identified as Michelle Bolding Rosgaard, 20, a tourist from Denmark, told police she was having a meal at a food centre when she was approached by the man who first asked for assistance, claiming he had been robbed and needed small cash to call home.
Pol Lt Withoon Ruangchaidecha of Chiang Mai Police Station, speaking to ScandAsia, said the Danish woman agreed to offer him some money and went to a nearby ATM to withdraw cash.
“According to the statement given by Rosgaard, it’s still not clear if it was a case of swindle or robbery,” the officer said.
Withoon said Rosgaard reported that she agreed to help the man with some cash. But it was not clear if she had promised to give the man THB10,000 or a lesser amount.
Police were gathering evidence, including footages from surveillance cameras at the shopping mall, to try to identify and apprehend the suspect. According to Withoon, the woman and the suspect were seen going to a local bank branch together after the cash withdrawal from the ATM.
Withoon said Rosgaard and the man had been seen arriving at the shopping mall in Pa Daed area together and later left together on the same motorcycle.
