A prolific underwear thief who stole thousands of bras and panties during a two-decade crime spree has finally been caught in Thailand.
Nattawut Songchai, 38, had a stash of about 600 pairs of underwear before he was arrested at a Bangkok apartment on Feb. 12, police said, but has admitted to stealing many more over the years.
His arrest came after a female resident of the same apartment building reported that the underwear she had hung out to dry on the evening of February 11 had disappeared, despite the anti-theft mesh around her balcony.
Police shamed the underpants by forcing him to pose with his bras, trousers and pajamas, which appear to have been hung and stored in cupboards in his flat.
The perverted burglar told police he has been stealing women’s underwear since he was a teenager and has now vowed to change his creepy behavior after ‘serving his time’.
Nattawut Songchai, 38, reportedly had a stash of around 600 pairs of underwear before he was captured by police at a Bangkok apartment on February 12
Songchai poses with his bras, pants and pajamas which appear to be hung and stored in cupboards in his apartment
Officers found 516 bras, 72 pairs of trousers and three pairs of women’s pajamas in the flat
Officers have now taken the perverted burglar into custody
Police eventually captured Songchai, they said, after “Investigators examined surveillance footage and found a man walking on the street and then climbing into the apartment.
“He put his hand into a gap between the wall and the metal mesh to steal the underwear,” said Colonel Payap Somboon, chief inspector of Bang Yi Khan police station. “He then returned to his room in the same apartment,”
Officers converged on Nattawut’s room and detained him for questioning. They found 516 bras, 72 pairs of pants and three sets of women’s pajamas.
Speaking to police officers, Nattawut said he had been stealing women’s underwear since he was 18 “because he liked to smell them.”
The pervert told police: “I have had a taste for women’s underwear since I was 18, when I worked in construction in Samut Sakhon province.
At night I would sneak out of the campsite and grab two to six pairs at a time. I sniffed it while masturbating and kept my collection a secret from my colleagues.
‘I was caught stealing underwear about ten years ago, but I made a deal with the victim to avoid arrest. After that I continued stealing underwear.’
He said he had worked as a handyman at the Goyee Apartment in Bangkok, where the owner provided him with accommodation and a monthly salary of 2,000 baht.
Officers converged on Nattawut’s room and detained him for questioning
His arrest came after a female resident of the same apartment building reported that the underwear she had hung out to dry was missing
Nattawut continued, “I had been staying there for a year while continuing my habit of stealing underwear until I was finally caught. I promise I’ll stop as soon as I’ve had my time.’
Officers have now taken the perverted burglar into custody.
Police Colonel Payap Somboon said: “He said he cannot stop stealing underwear because he is addicted to it. The court will hear him and decide what should be done.”
In a similar case, another Thai man was arrested last March for stealing hundreds of underwear to pleasure himself.
Ophas Chuenjit, 27, had picked bras and panties from women’s washing lines and rubbed them on himself while masturbating.
Police Colonel Payap Somboon said: ‘He said he can’t stop stealing underwear because he is addicted to it’
The perverted criminal admitted he has been stealing women’s underwear since he was a teenager and has now vowed to change his creepy behaviour
When he was done, he used the undergarments to decorate a bamboo thicket in the forest near his home in Kamphaeng Phet province.
Police arrested him following an investigation after a shocked passerby discovered the sexual shrine decorated with soiled underwear.
Stealing underwear is a form of fetish or ‘paraphilia’: intense sexual arousal that arises from objects, fantasies or behavior.
In an interview with the New Straits Times, Dr Shazli Ezzat Ghazali, associate professor of clinical psychology and behavioral health at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, said stealing underwear in particular can make the perpetrator feel closer to the owners of the panties.
He added that the thieves may get aroused by engaging in such taboo activities.