A man from Thailand intentionally committed a crime and landed in jail because he was too poor for freedom.
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The 60-year-old man, identified as only Phichit, committed the crime on July 29 at a local pharmacy in Chonburi province, a town south of Bangkok. According to local police, Phichit stole three bars of soap worth THB17( $.047) and was caught by employees. Although the pharmacy has an enforced shoplifting policy which includes paying fines and serving time in jail, employees let the man off the hook, and another customer offered to pay for his fine. However, Phichit declined the offer and insisted that the staff contact the police.
He said he wanted to be arrested for the crime, leading the staff to call the police. During his police interview, Phicit explained that he would rather spend time in jail since he could receive three meals a day and interact with others rather than live on the streets.
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As reported by Oddity Central, it is unclear how police handled the situation, but the outlet said it reflects how inflation affects citizens throughout the country. It is the highest level of inflation since 2008. “The pickup in Thailand’s consumer price gains in June will probably stoke inflation expectations, even though it was partly due to a less favorable basis of comparison. This should increase pressure on the Bank of Thailand to tighten ‘monetary policy”, said Asian economist Tamara Henderson to Bloomberg.
This is not the first time someone intentionally committed a crime to go to jail.
Lawrence John Ripple,70, a Kansas City man, walked into the Bank of Labor and handed a note to a teller. Authorities said the note reads, I have a gun, give me money,” and the teller complied with Ripple’s demands. However, he decided to stay inside the bank and waited for the police to arrive at the scene since their precinct was located on the same block as the bank. At the time of the robbery, he stole $3,000.
During an interview with police, Ripple said he argued with his wife before the bank robbery and didn’t want to be involved in that situation. “Ripple wrote out his demand note in front of his wife … and told her he’d rather be in jail than at home,” the FBI said in a statement. He didn’t get a lawyer for the case and was later sent to the Wyandotte County Detention Center. Ripple was later transferred to a federal city in Leavenworth, Kansas.
It was also unknown what the argument was about as Ripple didn’t disclose the details to authorities or the local media. On his Facebook page, he has a picture of himself and his wife as a profile photo.