Bank robbery suspect had intended to flee to Dubai before capture

BANGKOK — The suspect in last Thursday’s Standard Chartered (StanChart) bank robbery could be extradited here if Singapore presses charges against him within a week, said Police Colonel Nithithorn Chintakanon, Deputy Commander of the Thai Tourist Police, as he set out how they tracked him down after he landed in Bangkok.

The suspect, identified in Thai media as Canadian David James Roach, 27, is expected to be in Bangkok for about a week while documents are being processed.

Singapore can press charges via the Thai Attorney-General. After allegedly making off with S$30,000 from the Holland Village branch of the bank on July 7, Roach had fled to Bangkok on the same day, and had intended to press on to Chiang Mai and Dubai thereafter, said Pol Col Nithithorn on Wednesday (July 13). 

This is according to a notebook that was found on Roach when he was arrested, which also contained the text he had allegedly written and presented to the StanChart teller, Pol Col Nithithorn told reporters in a briefing.

The note is said to have read: “This is a robbery, I have a weapon, give me money, don’t call the police.”

Pol Col Nithithorn said Roach had on him US and Singapore dollars, as well as Thai baht totalling 700,000 baht (S$26,800).

He also had a laptop. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, he also outlined how Thai police found Roach on Sunday: Using closed-circuit television camera footage and by talking to the taxi driver who had driven him from the airport.

Roach had walked around Central World and Petchburi Soi 15, 17 and 19 — which was captured on CCTV cameras — and the Thai police then searched the 35 hotels and hostels in the area.

After a two-day search, Roach was nabbed at the Boxpackers Hostel, where he was staying on the fifth floor.

Around 20 to 30 police officers were present when Roach was caught.

It is possible Roach might be sent back to Canada, but Pol Col Nithithorn said he hopes Roach could be extradited to Singapore.

Thai Police Chief Jaktip Chaijinda, who visited Roach on Wednesday, told reporters that Roach wanted a lawyer and is refusing to talk.

The Embassy of Canada in Bangkok is providing Roach with consular assistance.

Singapore and Thailand do not have an extradition treaty, but Singapore police have previously said both countries have strong bilateral ties and are in talks to see whether the suspect can be released into Singapore’s custody. 

When contacted on Wednesday, the police reiterated their statement on Monday: That the Singapore authorities are currently engaging their counterparts in Thailand to see whether the suspect can be released into their custody.

The robbery at Holland Village was the first successful bank heist here in more than a decade.