SINGAPORE, July 20 — A tourist who helped steal a diamond worth more than S$235,000 (RM744,950) from a Singapore jewellery store by swapping it with a fake hidden in his accomplice’s mouth has been jailed, while the second suspect awaits trial.
The pair were arrested at Changi Airport just hours after the theft as they tried to board a flight home to India, The Straits Times reported today.
The theft unfolded in broad daylight at a jewellery store in Singapore’s Chinatown, where one of the two men spat out a counterfeit diamond before secretly swapping it with the genuine 4.95-carat stone during a viewing at a jewellery store along Kreta Ayer Road at about 3.40pm yesterday.
His accomplice then concealed the real diamond in his mouth before both men calmly left the shop without making a purchase.
Store staff grew suspicious after the pair left and discovered the genuine diamond had been replaced with a fake.
Through CCTV footage, police cameras and ground enquiries, officers identified the suspects and arrested them at Changi Airport Terminal 3 within three hours.
The stolen diamond was recovered from one suspect’s haversack and seized as evidence.
Indian national Mangroliya Manojkumar Kurjibhai pled guilty to theft and was sentenced on July 17 to two years, two months and two weeks’ jail.
His accomplice, Serasiya Milan Ramnikbhai, is facing a separate court case.
The pair have been accused of acting together to steal the diamond after showing interest in buying it before switching it with a fake.
In a statement on its website, the Singapore Police Force said it has “zero tolerance for such acts of crime” and warned retailers selling luxury goods to stay alert to similar sleight-of-hand thefts.
Under Singapore law, theft in dwelling carries a jail term of up to seven years and a fine.