ANN/THE NATION – A woman with a history of mental health challenges was taken into custody on Wednesday evening after she drove away in a stolen car from a shopping centre in Bangkok during the day. The vehicle had a cat inside.
This incident occurred at The Street shopping mall on Ratchadapisek Road at approximately 2pm. The car’s owner had left the engine running to keep the air conditioning on for her cat while she attended to her shopping.
The suspect, identified as Nattakan (surname withheld), 39, took off in the stolen car, sparking a high-speed chase which eventually ended with her being arrested in Bangkok’s Lat Phrao district.
The cat, Morty, was unharmed and reunited with its owner.
During the chase, Nattakan crashed the stolen car, brand-new with a temporary licence plate, into a road barrier and damaged several other vehicles.
Commander of the Huay Kwang Police Station Police Colonel Prasopchoke Iampinit said the suspect appeared distressed when she was arrested. She claimed the car owner’s sister had instructed her to steal the car.
Prasopchoke said Nattakan’s relatives had told the police that she had undergone treatment for mental health issues at a hospital in Khon Kaen.
However, she had stopped taking her medicines and had run away from home three days earlier.
The station chief said he will wait for a psychiatrist to evaluate the suspect before deciding whether she is mentally fit to stand trial.
Apart from stealing the car, Nattakan faces charges of property damage and assault.
Prasopchoke said a security guard at the shopping mall injured his hand while trying to stop the car from being driven away, while the mall’s barriers were damaged.
The guard said he heard a woman yelling that her car had been stolen, so he tried to block the carpark exit with a road barrier, but the car crashed through, knocking off the front bumper.
Nattakan also smashed into another car that was trying to block her way, while a policeman suffered slight injuries when he caught up with the suspect at a petrol station, but she fought him off and managed to escape.
Morty’s owner, meanwhile, said she is happy and relieved that her beloved cat is fine. The wise feline had taken refuge under a seat during the car chase.
