The Naked Thief

[Finnseventy]

Spent a pleasant week in Pattaya at the end of October, stayed in the Poseidon in the Jomtien Complex in a very nice and recently refurbished suite for the first few days. I then decamped to an apartment just across the road in View Talay 2 for the remainder of the stay. The apartment was on the top floor, and very nicely furnished, complete with a jacuzzi.

 

Stepping out of the lift one evening I was greeted by a boy who looked vaguely familiar. I may have seen him at one of the bars at some point. A bit taller than me but quite slim, not bad looking, probably in his mid twenties.

 

I stepped aside to let him into the lift but he showed no interest in leaving the floor. We chatted briefly. He asked for a drink of water, and, happy to oblige I let him into the apartment. “Let’s play” came next and so did I, after a while. We shared a shower and as I started to towel off he slipped out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. I was suspicious and followed just in time to see him make a grab for a note on the counter. I wasn’t sure what it was but it later turned out to be just a five euro note, worth less than 200 baht.

He was still naked and dripping wet from the shower when I surprised him and caught him by the wrist. He hadn’t a chance to conceal the note, not that there were many possibilities for concealment. He looked startled and confused as he momentarily considered his options, which may have included:

 

1.      Make a break from the apartment, run naked down the corridor, wait for the lift, travel down to the ground floor, run naked out the front of the building, past security, to safety.

2.      Surrender and wait for the inevitable security call to arrive and hand him over to the police

3.      Place himself at the mercy of his host

 

Or perhaps he wasn’t the brightest of operators and hadn’t figured out his options.

 

In any case I wasn’t letting go so he opened his fist and surrendered the note. I told him to get dressed, standing guard naked over him as he did so, trying not to smile at the comedy of the situation, and the look on his face.

In the end I tipped him as if nothing had happened and sent him on his way.

The tip included the five euro note.

[Guest]

The tip included the five euro note.

 

Hopefully this means you're paying part of the normal tip in Euros, rather than rewarding bad behaviour with 5 Euros extra ?

 

Sending him to an exchange rate booth should be the minimum inconvenience for that offence.    For petty theft, I would say 6 lashes would be a more appropriate reward.   This may be a minority view in the 21st century.

[reader]

Enjoyed the account but a bit puzzled by the decision to reward a thief caught red handed.

 

It was indeed a magnaminous jesture although I doubt it will influence his future behavior other than to enbolden him to try again with another farang.

[steveboy]

In any case I wasn’t letting go so he opened his fist and surrendered the note. I told him to get dressed, standing guard naked over him as he did so, trying not to smile at the comedy of the situation, and the look on his face.

In the end I tipped him as if nothing had happened and sent him on his way.

The tip included the five euro note.

 

A comedy indeed...  I would have done the same, except for the five euro note.

Maybe you tried to be Jesus Christ with his "give the other cheek"? 

[ChristianPFC]

Neven been in such a situation. Situations that come close were:

 

The boy Art who tried to steal my camera (it was already in his backpack), who was not a money boy (but I supported him with small amounts of a few hundred Bath, which obviously was not enough). I made it clear that I was not amused, and even gave him money for taxi when he asked for it, even thought at that point I knew already that beside taking my camera, he had been at my wallet as well. Should not have given him taxi money!

 

The boy Bom Minburi (moneyboy) who stole from me 3 times already, combined 1800 THB, but he is my type! He does not know that I know that he stole from me. Still pondering if I should invite him once more, to announce at the end that I know that he stole from me, and he has the 1000 we agreed upon for short time already stolen and I won't give him any more.

 

In your case I would have sent the boy out without money. Even better if you did not talk about money for sex. From a legal point of view, these are two different things: first you would have to pay for the service, and then you can report him to the police for trying to steal from you.

[vinapu]

Since it was some performance I'd give him something but  no more than half of my intended tip and definitely NOT include that 5 euro.

[vinapu]

 

 

The boy Bom Minburi (moneyboy) who stole from me 3 times already, combined 1800 THB, but he is my type! He does not know that I know that he stole from me. Still pondering if I should invite him once more, to announce at the end that I know that he stole from me, and he has the 1000 we agreed upon for short time already stolen and I won't give him any more.

 

 

next time guard and secure your possessions better but if you let him in and agree on amount , pay up. No need to lower yourself to his standards to save 1000 baht.

 

But i understand why ,  despite bad behavior,  you are tempted to see him again. 

[steveboy]

Since it was some performance I'd give him something but  no more than half of my intended tip and definitely NOT include that 5 euro.

 

Why 50% at most and not 40% or 60%?  You must have some interesting formulas...

[steveboy]

The boy Bom Minburi (moneyboy) who stole from me 3 times already, combined 1800 THB, but he is my type! He does not know that I know that he stole from me. Still pondering if I should invite him once more, to announce at the end that I know that he stole from me, and he has the 1000 we agreed upon for short time already stolen and I won't give him any more.

 

If he is your type, you could invite him over and over again without him ever knowing that you know but making sure that there is nothing around for him to steal again, and in this way the lost 1800 THB will get evened out over many offs.  If he is offed 18 times, the loss gets down to 100 THB per off, no more than a tip for some friendly smile at a bar.

[aussie_]

He might have just been looking at the note out of curiosity as it looked different to the baht notes he is used to seeing. Not everyone is a thief but i guess if the opportunity is there with easy money available the temptation is too much for guys who are desperate for cash.

 

The only time i was robbed was when i was in the shower in Australia. The guy i had been seeing for 6 months ran off with my laptop and more never to be seen again. It is rare that i let anyone visiting my room for sex out of my sight since that experience.

[Alexx]

Did I miss the part where a payment being due was even discussed?

[vinapu]

. It is rare that i let anyone visiting my room for sex out of my sight since that experience.

I must be lucky because on few occasions I even left boy alone in the room for a while a never ever anything missing or even moved other than perhaps sip of drink from refrigerator.

 

But I'm not naive either and rarely anything of interest is left in the open to avoid temptation.

Last trip I had some problem with my tablet and thought hell with it so never locked it , for two weeks it was in the open and I still have it.

 

For my personal use , in Thailand I feel my possessions are safe and I don't have any reason to be paranoid. But I remember "do not lead into temptation" prayer 

[steveboy]

But I remember "do not lead into temptation" prayer 

 

Your memory may be a little rusty because it is "do not lead US into temptation", a different meaning...

But what you wrote is right. We should not tempt others. This is why I have no problems walking around in third world countries looking like a pauper. (but a pauper with class )

[Boy69]

If it happened to me I would say to the boy that he can keep the 5 euro note but that's the only tip he gets and ask him to leave.

He won't be amused when he'll find out that this note is worth less than 200 baht and it will be a lesson for him for his future behavior.

[Uranus]

I would have thrown him out in his undies.

[Finnseventy]

Since it was some performance I'd give him something but  no more than half of my intended tip and definitely NOT include that 5 euro.

 

For petty theft, I would say 6 lashes would be a more appropriate reward.   This may be a minority view in the 21st century.

 

I would have thrown him out in his undies.

 

Great to hear how you guys would have handled the situation - though the 6 lashes may be pushing it z909!    Nice one Uranus.

I reckon I would have responded in similar form had anyone asked me in advance, but I behaved differently when the situation arose. I guess that's why I posted the story - to find out how you guys might have handled things differently.

 

I enjoy reading ChristianPFC's blog and had previously read his account of the triple thief Bom Minburi, whom he mentions above also. At the time I was puzzled that the theft was ignored but get it that it was out of greater considerations than just the loss of a few hundred baht. Perhaps that influenced me with the naked thief and softened my response.

 

 

It was indeed a magnaminous jesture although I doubt it will influence his future behavior other than to enbolden him to try again with another farang.

 

I agree reader, it may encourage him to try it again on another "soft" farang, and that would be unfortunate. But he'd be sure to come a cropper sooner or later I feel.

 

 

A comedy indeed...  I would have done the same, except for the five euro note.

Maybe you tried to be Jesus Christ with his "give the other cheek"? 

 

Maybe steveboy, but I generally only turn the other cheek in Soda massage!     

[reader]

Also nice jesture on your part to briefly summarize your reactions to the posts. Not only does it acknowledge contributors, it also helps keep thread on topic. Thanks, as they say, for sharing.

 

Yes, we should take prudent precautions but one of the reasons we make the journey is to get to know these guys a little better and that invariably requires some degree of vulnerability on our part. We can't know all the issues they're facing and have to react as we see fit when something goes awry.

 

No one got hurt here. The thief lost some face, but only in front of you and not his peers. All told, not a bad outcome considering the alternatives.

[Vessey]

Maybe its my wry sense of humour - but I smiled at the 5 Euro note tip at the end.

 

For my part I thought you handled and diffused an awkward situation well and with good grace.

[Londoner]

That is the correct attitude to take. "A soft word turneth away wrath." We are visitors in a very  foreign country; we hold many of the aces (money in particular) but  a graceful and benign response is sensible for both offender and victim.

[1moRussian]

He might have just been looking at the note out of curiosity as it looked different to the baht notes he is used to seeing. Not everyone is a thief but i guess if the opportunity is there with easy money available the temptation is too much for guys who are desperate for cash.

On the second thought - could be true.

If he was naked and wet, where he would have put it? Took the note out of curiosity, then taken by hand, he realized how it looks like - he could be confused by all the situation and impossibility to explain it...

[spoon]

Though why on earth he went out soaking wet in the middle of shower is confusing too lol

[vinapu]

. This is why I have no problems walking around in third world countries looking like a pauper. (but a pauper with class )

try travel alone, don't drag all class along with you

[ChristianPFC]

That is the correct attitude to take. "A soft word turneth away wrath." We are visitors in a very foreign country; we hold many of the aces (money in particular) but a graceful and benign response is sensible for both offender and victim.

 

You are condoning THEFT.

[vinapu]

You are condoning THEFT.

before you start throwing stones check you own post # 5 above as seem that you have soft spot for Minburi thief as well and I haste to say  I understand why 

[faranglaw]

I think it was a good decision to pay him his full fee, including the 5 euro note. It does a lot of good things:

 

1. It models honesty to someone who just did something dishonest.

2. It models forgiveness, something he likely hasn't seen a lot of in his life.

3. It does NOT "reward bad behavior," as some would have it, because the OP grabbed the boy by the wrist and made it clear his taking the note was unacceptable.

4. It will if anything increase his shame and loss of face, which might discourage him from doing it again.

5. Unexpected rewards make a person feel good. He will remember this incident, and may remember you if you ever decide to rent him again.

 

Plus, merit is real, and you just earned some. Everybody wins. I thought it was quite Buddhist of you!