Phuket villa manager caught faking robbery to hide lost deposits

A 21-year-old manager overseeing a luxury villa in Kamala Beach, Phuket, found herself in legal trouble after inventing an elaborate tale of assault and theft to mask her mishandling of customers’ deposits.

Identified as Chananchida Harnkamjorn, the manager confessed to fabricating an incident involving an alleged attack and the disappearance of 100,000 baht, attempting to conceal her misuse of the funds.

The incident was initially reported to the Kamala Police Station on Monday at 3 pm. However, thorough investigation by Colonel Somsak Thongkliang and his team uncovered disparities between the reported crime and the gathered evidence.

Chananchida’s scheme unraveled when she confessed to diverting the villa deposits into foreign currency trading, resulting in losses. To evade accountability, she concocted a narrative of being assaulted and robbed. However, her deception was swiftly dismantled under police scrutiny.

Despite Chananchida’s detailed account of a knife-wielding assailant attacking her while riding her motorbike home from work, her self-inflicted wound and carefully staged scene, inconsistencies emerged upon closer examination of the provided evidence.

The timestamps on the photographs she presented did not align with her story, leading to suspicions. Upon further questioning, Chananchida’s story crumbled entirely.

Financial investigations revealed irregularities that pointed to her guilt, prompting her confession.

Chananchida’s plan to recoup the lost funds through stock market investments was foiled by the police’s efficiency and investigative prowess. She underestimated their ability to solve the case swiftly, resulting in her arrest and subsequent charges of filing false statements with law enforcement.