THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Stolen diamond in suspect's tummy: police

Stolen diamond in suspect's tummy: police

TWO Chinese nationals accused of stealing a Bt10-million diamond from a jewellery fair were taken to Nonthaburi Provincial Court by police yesterday to get permission to detain them.

After, police took the two suspects – Hae Ying, 34, and Jiang Xulian, 39 – to Police General Hospital in Bangkok, so doctors could locate the gemstone, which Jiang is thought to have swallowed. 
An X-ray of her stomach yesterday showed a diamond-shaped object in her intestines. Jiang was being kept under strict surveillance at the hospital, as of time of press time.
She appeared exhausted yesterday as she had taken laxatives and went to the toilet the whole of the previous night, an informed source reported. 
Police kept providing her food and drink yesterday to prevent her health being harmed while trying to locate the diamond, the source added.
Following a complaint of theft by the exhibitor to police on Thursday, the first day of the five-day fair at Impact Muang Thong Thani, police quickly obtained arrest warrants based on CCTV footage and alerted immigration police. 
The two suspects were apprehended while trying to board a flight at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Thursday. They denied any wrongdoing. 
 
‘More suspects possible’
Pol Lt-Colonel Withit Chan-eium, deputy superintendent for investigation at Pakkred Police Station, said police did not find any prior criminal record for both suspects. 
He said circumstances of the case – including the fake gemstone allegedly used as a replacement for the real gem and the fact that the Chinese should have left the country on Tuesday but allegedly stayed longer to commit the crime – suggested there might be several more people involved. He said the two suspects went straight to the airport after the alleged theft without returning to pack their belongings at a Bangkok hotel first.
Tourist Police commander Maj-General Supapone Arunsit alleged that one of the suspects had confessed to travelling to Thailand to commit the theft.
He alleged the suspect asked to see the genuine diamond in order to switch it with the fake before swallowing the diamond to try and avoid detection. 
He said police suspected the theft was carried out by a gang that had done heists in Thailand and other countries.
 
RELATED
nationthailand