Canadian held in Thailand over bank robbery

Interpol Bangkok head Police-Major General Apichat Suriboonya told Channel NewsAsia on Tuesday that Singapore had sent an extradition request to Thailand’s Attorney General’s Office and that the request is being processed.

“Singapore is in the middle of asking for this suspect back but the decision rests with the courts”, said Jakthip.

The local Straits Times newspaper said police were searching for an Australian man. Bank robberies are rare in Singapore, whose tough stance against crime and strict ban on private gun ownership have made it one of Asia’s safest cities.

“It took us two days to find him, we got all the information from CCTV footage”, said Pol Col Nithithorn.

The suspect, 27-year-old David James Roach, is now being held in Bangkok’s Suan Plu Immigration Detention Centre.

The police “didn’t even have the decency to issue a statement or conduct a briefing about the robbery… stage fright???”, said Facebook user Erik Seeto.

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.

Yesterday, the police had earlier said that Roach was 26.

The media reports say Roach allegedly flew to Bangkok shortly after the robbery and was tracked down and detained by police at his hostel on Sunday.

If Roach is deported, he will be sent to Canada, and Singapore will have to pursue the case with the Canadian authorities. He was believed to have been arrested in the 10-bed room.

The suspect had entered Thailand via Suvarnabhumi Airport on July 7 last week.

Police found said they recovered a notebook with his escape plans to Chiang Mai and then Dubai, as well as the phrases he wrote on the piece of paper to rob the bank – “This is a robbery, I have a weapon, give me money, don’t call police”.

The robbery on July 7 was reported to have happened only within the span of a few minutes.

Attribution from media sources.