A monkey stole a bag of food from a motorcycle parked outside a shop.

CCTV footage shows the primate emerging from behind a trash bin on the roadside and running towards the two-wheeler while the owner, Chanachai Sungsit, had his back turned in Lopburi province, Thailand, on March 27.

It quickly removed the bag from the handlebar and fled with the hot meal to the other side of the road.

When the owner was about to take his dinner, he was confused that the plastic had vanished and discovered what happened through the security camera recordings.

Chanachai said: 'That was my first time experiencing a monkey stealing from me successfully.'

Thailand's growing population of primates has become a problem as the animals are known to damage property, such as cars and buildings. Unafraid of the consequences, they have also started stealing food from tourists and locals.

Many provincial governments in Thailand have been lobbying for the removal of crab-eating macaques from the country's list of protected wildlife. The legal protections have been hampering efforts to curb the pillaging simians' ballooning numbers.

Meanwhile, the Thai government is taking steps to manage the monkey population in the country, including creating sanctuaries, mass sterilisation programs, educating the public on how to handle the animals properly, and relocating them to more suitable habitats.