4 of 6 Filipinos in Bangkok jewelry theft case plead guilty

MANILA, Philippines—Four of  the six Filipinos, who were arrested in Bangkok for allegedly stealing jewelry worth more than 6 million Baht (approximately P8.4 million) last week, pleaded guilty to the charges, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The Filipinos, together with an interpreter and Philippine Embassy officer, attended a preliminary hearing Friday morning, the DFA said.

“Four of them pleaded guilty, while two denied the charges,” it added, saying the judge is prescribing a 500,000 Baht (approximately P700,000) bail bond for each of the accused.

The DFA said the Philippine Embassy is negotiating for the reduction of the bail bond. It added that the accused are set to meet with a Thai lawyer on Wednesday.

“The accused Filipinos said that they can pay for their own defense counsel,” the DFA said.

If convicted, the accused could be sentenced to 5-10 years imprisonment.

Reports said that the owner of the Gems Pavilion jewelry store in Bangkok’s Siam Paragon shopping mall found out that several pieces of jewelry were missing after the Filipinos left the store.

The Filipinos were reportedly caught by security cameras committing the crime, prompting authorities to follow them to the hotel where they were booked. The missing jewelry were allegedly found inside the room occupied by the Filipinos.