SINGAPORE: Two men, aged 30 and 42, were arrested on Friday (June 19) for allegedly stealing a diamond worth more than S$235,000.
In a statement on June 20, the police said they received a call for assistance in Kreta Ayer Road in Chinatown at 3.40pm on June 19, after the diamond was stolen from a jewellery store.
Officers from the Central Police Division and Police Operations Command Centre identified the two men through follow-up investigations, ground enquiries and using CCTV and police camera footage.
The men were then arrested at Changi Airport Terminal 3 on June 19, while the stolen diamond was recovered and seized as case exhibit.
Preliminary investigations showed that the two men – whose nationalities were not disclosed by the police – had shown interest in purchasing the diamond while at the jewellery store.
While they were examining the diamond, they replaced it with a fake one. The pair left the shop without buying anything, arousing the suspicion of the shop assistant, who discovered the switch after conducting a check.
The two men are set be charged on June 20 with theft in dwelling with common intention. If convicted, they each face up to seven years’ jail and a fine.
In their statement, the police said they have “zero tolerance for such acts of crime and will spare no effort to apprehend offenders and deal with them in accordance with the law”.
“The police would also like to alert all shop owners selling luxury items to be vigilant against similar modus operandi and guard against such theft involving sleight of hand,” they added. - The Straits Times/ANN
