From ANDREW DRUMMOND,
Bangkok, October 10 2011
Pictures Andrew Chant/Boem
For Daily Mail
A retired Briton was under arrest in Thailand and facing 25 years in jail today after pulling off an armed bank heist in the Northern capital of Chiang Mai.
Michael Wynn – The bitter end of the hunt
Michael Wynn, 63, was arrested early this morning (Monday) at a £150 a month apartment, five days after the robbery at a bank in the city centre.
Thai Police said Wynn trained at a ‘Fitness Thailand’ gym before and after the robbery last Wednesday.
He trained here regularly before his heist
Wynn, admitted the robbery, police said, after he was caught with most of the £12,000 cash in his one bedroomed apartment. But he refused to give any further details of himself or the incident.
Police also took away three copies of the magazine ‘Soldier of Fortune’ , one issue of ‘Tactical Weapons’, and 21 ‘weapons videos’.
Siam Commercial Bank police recovered all the cash 530,000, less 123,000.
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Witnesses in the area of the robbery said they had seen Wynn drive past the bank several times on a red Honda Click motorcycle before the robbery. One recognized him as a member of the ‘Fitness Thailand’ gym in Icon Square, Chiang Mai.
Last Wednesday at 11.42 Wynn left his apartment at the Loft Residence (right) wearing a black motorcycle helmet and dark coat and drove to Diamond Square in the city centre, said police.
Wynn entered the Siam Commercial Bank there and brought out a gun and knife and demanded cash.
‘Actually he did not say anything. He just made the gestures, so we knew what he wanted,’ said bank teller Suparat Rattanakot, who put the money in his bag.
Afterwards Wynn fled on his Honda but was caught on several CCTV cameras. The red Honda Click was recognised by several witnesses. But it had its licenced plate removed.
Nevertheless police were able to trace it to the hirer who named Wynn as the person who rented it.
Wynn had been seen zooming about town on several occasions, particularly near the bank, it seems.
The Phantom? Well not quite. Foreigners still stand out in Chiang Mai, especially big ones on little motorbikes going to the gym
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Police Colonel Somsak Jantapung said: ‘He was recognized as a foreigner immediately from his build and skin colouring. Later his clothes, and his motorcycle provided more clues. We put him under surveillance at the gym and followed him back to his apartment.
A fair cop. Well Wynn did not think so when he was put up before a press conference and the whole dirty deed was explained. It was a breach of human rights he said, and he knew because he had been a policeman earlier in his life.
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‘We then applied for a warrant for his arrest and when we entered his apartment at the Loft Residence he let us in and admitted the robbery after we found the cash, and the helmet and shoes which were similar to those used in the robbery.’
Soldier of Fortune magazine- required Chiang Mai reading – but usually only by foreigners intending to cross the Burma border and start shifting with the Shan, Karen, and Karenni rebel armies there.
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Late today he was visited by a British Consular official.
Man, 64 is too old to be going to a Thai prison.
Ah well – Wynn some, you lose some.
Silly man, if you really want to rob a bank in Thailand you need to bring a pick-up truck, or else it ain't worth it.
Would this be classed as Feckless?
What's his nic on TD?
I often wonder if theirs a mysterious equation that some how comes into play when ever the words farang and money are combined . If I could ring up
Mr Wynn , these are the questions I would like to put.
1. Why after robbing a bank would you stash the money in your own apartment .
2. Why would you use a motor bike you rented , giving your passport details etc.
3. In the shot of you driving by casing the bank , why wear a clear crash helmet visor showing your skin colour .
4. If you going to rob a bank , why do it on your own door step , where you could be recognized .
4. if you had been a policeman earlier in your life , surly you would think about all of the above first .
regards and good luck – Thaiphoon
In holding this man up ( sorry ) as a figure of fun let us not discount the possibility, given his age, that he may have suffered the onset of some dementia and this is the consequence.
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Thai people are the nicest in the world, and to yet again disgrace the (once good) name of England to that country is shameful.
To the Thai people I would say that we are not all bad people.
Point taken Mr.Westerby. At the moment this is only the police side of the story and Mr.Wynn was not in a talking to the press mood. However in the long term this site may be the only place on which he can present his side of the story and of course we are human here too and appreciate there may be other forces at play.
Neil Johnston
Posted on October 11 2011 at 15:35:01
""Thai people are the nicest in the world, and to yet again disgrace the (once good) name of England to that country is shameful. To the Thai people I would say that we are not all bad people.""…
Another one just off the plane.
Hysterical.
Anyway, back to story, I feel for this poor chap. Been in LOS too long clearly.
I have known this guy casually at the gym for over a year. He is not mentally well in my opinion. I think he is no prince, but he has serious issues with perceiving reality. It is sad his life has ended this way.
He's obviously not a well man! Unfortunately, Thai Courts and Prisons do not have the facilities or know how of how to deal with or look after these people.
Chances are he will be sentenced and convicted and thrown into the general population of the likes of Klong Prem. Indeed a sad end to this man in his twilight years or is he in the twilight zone?
Bill…it might be sad, but perhaps with his mental state and the magazines he was hoarding, along with weapons…something worse could have been on the horizon and perhaps lucky he will be put away for a long time.
You do the crime you do the time. Good job Thai police.
signed resident farang
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If this wasn't so sad it would be funny.point being the man is clearly suffering mental health issues.
As for his claims of being a police officer backin the UK,surely alarm bells should be ringing already upon hearing that?
Unfortunately as previously mentioned,the Thai system doesn't have the means to deal with mentally ill patients and he will probably be left to rot in the corner of some stinking,hellhole prison,handcuffed to the prison bars and left to die.
Unless a family member steps forward to take care and responsibility for him,or the British Consulate step in.As happened to the nearly-dead man in a Pattaya jail,found by a freelance do-gooder!
The poor guy must have a family somewhere,who knows what finally drove him over the edge,could have been loneliness or anything?
Tim you are speculating rather. He did not claim he was a policeman in the UK. I believe it was Africa. I guess we will hear his story in the fulness of time.
Facinating story, would be farcical if he did not threaten ordinary bank workers in this way.
Reminds me of the ""ex-Spetsnatz"" Russians who raided a bank in Pattaya 7 or 8 years ago and escaped on a recently purchased boat. Ran out of gas and were turned in by local fishermen. As far as I recall they shot dead a cop in the process.
If he is not well I can only hope the Embassy do something, unlikely as it seems.
I use to train in Fitness Thailand and Mick was always in there. If I went in the morning, he was there,if I went in the evening, he was there. He would always come and have a chat,and he gave me the impression that he was lonely. I know he had some money issues, but I never thought it was so serious. The man was sane, and he was certainly not stupid in regards to how police operate their investigations. We had several conversations about a mutual friend who had run into problems with the law and he gave them advice. This makes me think that his actions were carried out, knowing that he would be caught. Why? is another question. But if you have nothing and their is nobody in your home country to help you, where do you turn? Better off in jail than on the streets begging, is sometimes a better option for someone at his age. I don't know, but I do know that Mick was sane enough to know that he was never going to get away with that crime.
Sane enough to know that he would be better off in a Thai prison for the rest of his life ? I would think that kind of thought process would land him in an asylum back home without the need to rob a bank. Also England has ways of helping its down and outs right ?, dont they have social welfare and such ? and wouldn't that be better than a 5 metre square cell with a pot in the corner to piss in while shared with 50 others ? I would prefer a UK asylum, at least they would have colour telly…in english, albeit with a wire screen in front.