Tourists lose $39k in Thai hotel, horrified to find secret door in room

Some guests at a hotel in Kanchanaburi province, western Thailand became the victims of a theft which occurred in the most unlikely way. 

Two families checked into the hotel on April 26, and had their valuables amounting to $1 million baht (S$38,600) stolen while they were away, reported Thai media outlet Thaiger on Monday (June 19).

Although they both made police reports on the same day, they claimed they hadn't heard back from the authorities in nearly three months — prompting them to turn to the media for help. 

One of the victims, Asana "Por" Kaenkaew spoke to Thai media about the incident last Sunday. The 43-year-old recounted that he checked into the hotel with his wife and one-year-old daughter in the evening on that fateful day. 

The family had travelled from the Southern province of Songkhla to visit his younger brother in Kanchanaburi.

Nothing seemed amiss when they returned to their hotel at 11pm that night. Por added that the family weren't too concerned about security as their room was located close to the hotel's security post.

Unfortunately, when Por and his wife woke up at 7am the next day, they discovered that their valuables — consisting of a gold necklace, gold ring, diamond ring, valuable amulets, and 710,000 baht in cash — were missing. 

Por said he was sure that no one had entered the room through the door, as he locked it before hitting the sack the night before. 

While they were making their way to their car to check if they had accidentally left the items there, they bumped into another guest staying in a neighbouring room, Pinyo.

Pinyo was also missing his wallet and 7,000 baht in cash. 

The two men conducted a thorough search of their rooms, and combed through the windows and the doors when they made a shocking discovery — secret doors that had been built into their rooms. 

The doors appeared as mirrors from inside the room, but were recognisable as doorways from the exterior. 

They were also locked from the outside. 

According to Por, the hotel did not inform either of them about the doors when they checked in. However, they were later told that the doors were installed for mistresses to escape from their lovers' partners.

Por added that the hotel did not compensate him or Pinyo for their losses, as the hotel owner argued that the victims could not prove that the valuables were brought into the hotel. 

When local police arrived at the hotel to investigate, they collected some footprints and fingerprints from the door and the air conditioner. However, they did not provide the victims with any information regarding the theft. 

The name of the hotel was not disclosed in the media reports. 

READ ALSO: 'What a horror story': Singaporean discovers JB hotel room door can be unlocked without key card

claudiatan@asiaone.com