When two Indian tourists visited Singapore, their trip turned infamous when a diamond valued at SGD200,000 went missing from a jewelry store in Chinatown. However, what made the theft even stranger was the method that the criminals used to hide the precious stone.
Mangroliya Manojkumar Kurjibhai, 41 years old, has been given a sentence of two years, two months, and two weeks in a Singaporean prison after he pleaded guilty to theft charges during a court hearing on 17 July.
As reported, the diamond was valued at approximately SGD 200,000 or around Rp2.5 billion. It was stolen from a well-known jewelry shop in the Chinatown area of Singapore, and what made it even more intriguing was the method that the criminals had used to carry out their operation.
What was strange about the situation was that it was not just the value of the diamond in question but also the method used by the accomplices to hide it successfully.
As per the filed documents with the court, Mangroliya, and his friend 30-year-old Serasiya Milan Ramnikbhai had entered Singapore using the social visit passes. Then, the two visited the jewelry store pretending to be normal customers who were interested in buying expensive.
Once the men arrived inside the shop, they carried out the plans that they had conceived in advance. Reportedly, their planning process began in India where the men created an exact replica of the diamond they wanted to steal.
Their imitation wasn’t made out of just any piece of glass or simple imitation gemstone. Reports claim that the turned out counterfeit stone was made in such a way that it resembled the original in all aspects, including its dimensions and serial number.
It can be assumed that the man was not simply attempting to execute the theft on a spur of the moment upon entering the store.
Once they entered the shop, Mangroliya gave Serasiya a signal for carrying out the act. The latter reportedly employed an unusual method for hiding fake diamonds that would let him steal the original diamond from the shop.
The original diamond was hidden also inside the thief’s mouth.
Yes, the thieves managed to hide the stolen stone in their mouth while they were still in the jewelry store.
Though the plan might have seemed brilliant to the scammers at first, there was one complication in it: CCTV cameras were watching them.
As per reports, the movements of the suspects were recorded on the store’s cameras. This evidence was crucial in formulating what had happened at the shop.
The suspects seemed to have believed that they perfectly executed their diamond exchange and would not raise any eyebrows. However, the authorities got suspicious enough to check on them after seeing their movements.
The situation escalated even more when the two tried to escape from Singapore.
Mangroliya was apprehended at Changi Airport while he and his accomplice were supposedly trying to leave Singapore. Their escape plan followed the previous events when the jewelry was stolen on June 19.
With the arrest, it unfortunately turned into a failed effort.
Now, for Mangroliya, the case resolved with a sentence. The court sentenced him to two years and two weeks behind bars after he validated his participation in the failed theft.
Singapore does view crimes against property seriously, especially if they were planned and involved expensive items. The law imposes a severe punishment in this case of maximum seven years in prison plus a fine.
In addition, Mangroliya is not the only one who would face consequences because of the strange diamond theft.
According to the facts of the case at hand, Serasiya Milan Ramnikbhai has a separate legal match. His hearing was on July 24 as per reports.
The accused apparently created a replica in India, traveled to Singapore posing as tourists, walked into a jewelry store acting like customers, and tried to swap a precious diamond with an imitation.
However, one thing they were seemingly not able to avoid was surveillance.
Modern jewelry stores are extensively surveilled, especially when it comes to precious stones. Even the best-laid plans can go awry when every move is documented on CCTV.
The case also illustrates how a simple diamond theft can lead to much bigger trouble when crossing international borders. What started in India, according to reports, went on to Singapore before culminating in the arrest at one of the busiest airports in the world.
Although the peculiar method of concealment may have given the criminals a false sense of security, it did not work out in their favor. The diamond was stolen, some of the perpetrators received prison sentences, and there is now an ongoing court case against them.
This crime included a trip for tourists, a diamond worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, a fake stone, and a unique hiding place—inside one of the offender’s mouths.
