BANGKOK (THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - An American tourist has been arrested for stealing 1,420 baht (S$59.71) from a donation box at a temple in Chiang Mai.

A man named by police as Michael William Dewey, 48, was arrested late on Friday (March 30) night in front of a guesthouse in Tambon Chang.

His arrest followed a complaint by the abbot of the Wat Nong Mor Khamtuan temple in Tambon Sriphum that a western man broke open a donation box and stole money on Friday morning.

The abbot, Phra Khru Praphat Sudkij, said the man was seen committing the theft in footage from a security camera.

The abbot alleged that the man rode his bicycle to the temple to steal from it twice.

Police said the tourist initially denied the charge, but when he was confronted with the footage, he admitted it.