Local Japanese media reported that a Thai deputy director-general of the Department of Intellectual Property was arrested for stealing three paintings from a hotel while on a work trip to talk about intellectual property issues.
Kyoto police officers were informed by a hotel operator that a Thai man was busted with three cheap paintings in his suitcase at checkout. CCTV footage shows that he took the paintings from the ninth and tenth floor of the property, so they alerted the police, according to a report by PPTV.
The three paintings were estimated to cost JPY15,000, which is about THB4,600.
The suspect was identified as one of the deputy director-generals of the Department of Intellectual Property, who was in Osaka for a meeting with Japanese authorities about patents, said Permanent Secretary of Commerce Wiboonluck Ruamrak.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the Thai embassy in Japan reported the arrest. The Ministry is in contact with Japanese authorities about the case and will release updates later.
The name of the deputy director-general in question has not been officially released.
In other news, did you know Suphat Saguandeekul got a welcome party as a new deputy director-general of the Department of Intellectual Property in mid-2015? We would link back to the press release, but it was removed from the department’s website, right before the publication of this story.
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