This is the moment a Thai hotel maid was taken on a crime re-enactment after stealing 15,000 dollars worth of goods from an American tourist.

Pimsiri Boonchu, 26, had been working as a maid at the Vogue Hotel in Pattaya, Thailand, when Tracy Nguyen, 48, stayed their earlier this month.

The mother left a 'do not disturb' sign on the door while she went out but was horrified to find jewellery and cash missing when she returned on August 4.

Police checked CCTV and identified the maid who was finally tracked down last week having quit her job after the theft.

Pimsiri had been on a spending spree and bought a new car and jewellery for herself.

During a re-enactment on Saturday she told police that she had been having money problems.

She said: ''I took the money and jewellery from the room and sold some. I bought a new car with it. This is the first time I have stolen anything.''

The victim said she returned to the room and found she was missing 3,500USD in cash, Vietnamese currency, her passport, driving licence, ATM card and other items were missing.

They included a gold bracelet worth 2,000USD, a platinum bracelet worth 700USD, a pair of diamond earrings worth 6,000USD, a platinum necklace with a diamond ornament worth 1,500USD, a copper alloy necklace worth 300USD and a Ferragamo purse.

The stolen items were worth about 500,000 baht (15,344USD)in total.

Pattaya police chief Apichai Krobtech said: ''Today we have brought the criminal back to the scene where she stole items. This is very bad and damages the image of Pattaya as a tourist destination.