The accused distributed sweets among the hotel staff and on the day he left. (Representational)
A 65-year old man, who allegedly used to stay in five-star hotels and leave without paying the bill, was caught on Sunday near the Kollam Railway Station and remanded in judicial custody for 14 days, police said.
Vincent John was arrested on a recent complaint by the hotel in the heart of the State capital, where he had stayed and left without paying the bill, a police officer said.
John, a native of Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, stole a laptop from the hotel, too, the officer said and added that it was recovered from a shop in Kollam.
When he checked in, the hotel did not take any cash in advance from him in view of his style and the way he conducted himself, the police said.
John distributed sweets among the hotel staff and on the day he left, he had said he would return and told them to arrange for a banquet for 100 people by the time he is back, they said.
Preliminary investigation revealed he had allegedly committed such frauds several times in the past in Kerala and in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Goa, the police said.
Most of the offences were committed in Mumbai according to information sent by the police from there, they said. Information was coming in from various other States also, they said.
The police further said John appeared unperturbed by the arrest as the punishment for the offences was three months.
After he left the star-hotel, the police began the investigation and traced him to Kollam using his mobile number and photograph from CCTV footage of the hotel, the officer said.
With the help of the Kollam police, he was arrested by a team from Cantonment Police Station, he added.
Initially, the accused stated before the police he was single, and has no family.
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