Tourist who stole $200k diamond by hiding it in his mouth gets more than 2 years’ jail
Both Serasiya Milan Ramnikbhai and his accomplice were sentenced to two years, two months and two weeks’ jail.
A Singaporean man who stole a nearly $200,000 diamond by hiding it in his mouth has been sentenced to over two years in jail. Serasiya Milan Ramnikbhai, 30, appeared in court via video-link and pleaded guilty to the theft charge on September 1. His accomplice, Mangroliya Manojkumar Kurjibhai, 41, received the same sentence in July.
The lawyers for Serasiya's team, Amarick Gill and S. Ramanujen, explained that Mangroliya, who had a background in the diamond industry, was the mastermind behind the plan. They stated that Mangroliya sourced out the diamond and paid for the flights to Singapore. The two Indian nationals were introduced through a mutual friend and were made to believe they were obtaining a counterfeit diamond matching the real one's serial number.
The duo arrived in Singapore as tourists on June 19. On June 25, they visited the Dianoche jewellery store in Kreta Ayer Road, with Serasiya hiding the counterfeit diamond in his mouth. Mangroliya distracted the sales manager while Serasiya swapped the fake for the real diamond and placed it in his mouth. Cameras inside the store captured the men's actions.
The store alerted the police after identifying the gemstone as fake, and the men were arrested at Changi Airport while trying to clear immigration. The genuine diamond was recovered from Serasiya's bag, and both men were charged with theft on June 20.
Written by urgent.news from Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
