Suspected to have mental health issues, a Norwegian man is accused of snatching a woman’s bicycle on a busy street in Bangkok.
According to Thai media reports, the 33-year-old Norwegian man was arrested on the 5th in front of the Marriott Hotel in the Sukhumvit area. He later lost control of his emotions at the police station and injured himself by banging his head against the iron bars inside the detention cell.
Prior to the incident, officers were patrolling their designated area when they received a report from the central station that a case had occurred at the entrance to Sukhumvit Soi 25. When police arrived on scene, a man stated that while he was driving his tuk-tuk past the location, a foreign man approached pretending to ask for directions, then pushed him to the ground and tried to forcibly take over the tuk-tuk. The victim immediately got up to take back the keys, preventing the man from succeeding.
The Norwegian man then fled the scene, running all the way to the entrance of Sukhumvit Soi 43, where he pushed down a woman riding her bicycle and forcibly rode away on it.
Following the trail, the police tracked the Norwegian man to the road in front of the Marriott Hotel, told him to stop, but he refused to cooperate and continued to try to escape. Police therefore took the necessary forceful measures to apprehend him.
A preliminary investigation confirmed that both victims identified the Norwegian man as the perpetrator.
Police suspect the Norwegian man may have mental health problems. He was taken back to the station for investigation according to procedures, and has been charged with robbery.