A police manhunt has been launched for a man who on Sunday staged a robbery at a gold shop in the Big C superstore in Muang district of this northern border province and made off with 193-baht weight of gold ornaments worth about 5.8 million baht.
Three female employees of the Yaowaraj Sinthavee gold shop told police that the man suddenly appeared before them, pulled out a handgun and forced them to hand him several trays of gold ornaments. They did not resist for fear of their lives.
The man took the gold ornaments and an amount of cash before fleeing on a white Yamaha motorcycle in the direction of King Taksin Hospital, the employees said.
They said the robber was tall and thin and wore a grey jacket, a pair of brown trousers, a pair of white gloves and a red helmet with a white cross painted on top.
Pol Maj Gen Pokpapop Bodipitak, the Tak police chief, said he had ordered officers in Muang district to track down the robber. All police checkpoints were alerted for interception.
Police in Mae Sot district had set up a dragnet to prevent the robber from fleeing across the border.