Thai consulate officials in Japan are seeking freedom for a Thai senior official who was arrested for allegedly stealing cheap paintings from a hotel in Kyoto.
Suphat Sanguandeekul, deputy director-general of the Department of Intellectual Property, is being detained at a Kyoto police station after he was busted with three stolen paintings in his suitcase at the time of checkout. The CCTV footage from the hotel indicated that he stole three landscape paintings from the ninth and tenth floors at the hotel.
Kyoto police will allow officials from the Thai Consulate in Osaka to talk to Suphat today, and if Suphat shows remorse and is willing to pay compensatory damages, the Consulate will ask the prosecutor to drop the charges.
Meanwhile, Kyoto police said the hotel operator is positive towards the case and doesn’t want the story to get out as it could negatively affect the tourism business in Kyoto.
This means, if the hotel operator settles for compensation, Suphat will be off the hook and fly back to Bangkok before his visa even expires, MThai reported.
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