The latest robbery in Udonthani highlights the lack of effective protection for valuable assets in Thailand’s shopping malls. UDONTHANI, Thailand — A brazen gold shop robbery inside a busy shopping mall in Udonthani has once again exposed the persistent weakness of gold shops operating in Thailand’s malls. Many continue to rely heavily on minimal security measures, leaving law enforcement to clean up the mess when crimes inevitably occur. At around 7 PM on April 26, a man wearing a rider jacket, long pants, sneakers, and a full-face black helmet stormed into a gold shop on the second floor of a shopping center located along Udonthani–Sakon Nakhon Ring Road. Armed with a fake gun and a hammer, the robber threatened four shop employees, smashed a glass display case, and made off with 30 gold necklaces worth approximately 1.6 million baht. Security footage captured the suspect fleeing via an escalator before dashing out the main entrance. Despite desperate attempts by mall staff to alert security guards, the robber managed to escape, abandoning the fake gun and hammer at the scene, before riding off on a yellow Honda Click motorcycle with an unknown license plate. The incident highlights a long-standing issue: while gold shops generate high-value transactions daily, many still depend on passive security measures like CCTV and under-resourced mall security. When crimes strike, the responsibility is quickly shifted onto the police, who are left scrambling to track down well-prepared criminals after the fact. Police in Udonthani are now reviewing CCTV footage and working urgently to track the escape route of the suspect, pledging to apprehend him swiftly. However, this incident has left the public questioning why more proactive security systems and deterrents aren’t in place to protect such obvious targets — especially in high-traffic shopping malls. A bold thief made off with 30 gold necklaces, exposing the severe gaps in security at gold shops in shopping centers. As another gold shop robbery shakes Thailand, authorities work quickly to track down the suspect who snatched 1.6 million baht in gold.