Thai partner stole 70000 baht from me, what would the police do in this circumstance?

I gave him the money, to help pay for a business which didn’t plan out. He kept the money, as we were looking for other options and said he’ll keep it there to pay, so we didn’t get bank charges sending it back & forth.

No business plans out, im asking for the money back , many excuses to not repay etc. turns out he’s gambled and smoked all the money away.

He’s begged me not to go to the police, I’ve accepted I will not get the money back and he has no way of paying it back. I feel also like the police would not help as it’s his word against mine, not a direct theft. But I also feel foolish as he’s essentially getting off free? Would he be forced to repay, or prison? Or would they not care?

P.S I also already know I’m a prize idiot for trusting him.

Hello everyone. Over a year ago, I invested a large sum of money into a new Thai business with a Thai friend. I know nothing about business and I don't speak Thai so he is the one who set everything up. It has come to my attention that he is actually a pathological liar and I may have been duped. This guy owns a house and has a family in my village so I have time to plan a course of action. My final goal is to just get all my money back from him so we can go our separate ways. There is a record of my bank transfer to him so I do have proof of giving him money. I know there are many more details I need to give for you guys to give me good advice but for now I just want to know how to get started on going after this guy. Any guidance you guys can give on this matter would be greatly appreciated as many of you have helped me out before. Thank you all so much for reading this and I hope you can help. 😀

Can you (as a foreigner) open a Thai bank account with a Thai person as a joint owner of that account?