Mover jailed for stealing diamond rings

Before moving homes, a resident of an upscale condominium placed two expensive diamond rings on a table and forgot about them completely.

A part-time mover spotted the diamond rings unattended during the move, pocketed them and carried on with his work.

Yesterday, the worker, Azeman Rahmat, 40, was sentenced to eight months in prison, after pleading guilty to stealing Ms Jolly Wu Dun Yi's property from her Reflections at Keppel Bay home around 9.40am on June 24.

The court heard that Ms Wu, 30, hired Shalom Movers to transfer furniture to her new home. The evening before the move was to take place, she had removed her engagement and wedding rings and placed them on a table in her daughter's bedroom.

She left the unit after briefing a team of workers from the firm. This included Azeman, then a part-time mover.

The offender entered the room while packing other items and took the rings, worth $58,797.

Ms Wu realised around 11.20am that she was not wearing the rings.

She called back and asked her maid to check for them. When the maid said they were missing, Ms Wu called the police.

When the movers were told about this, Azeman, who was still in the condo unit, panicked and threw the loot into a cleaning trolley at the lift lobby outside.

But he admitted what he had done after the rings were found later following an extensive search.

Handing down the sentence yesterday, District Judge Wong Choon Ning considered Azeman's history of property-related convictions, the most recent in 2005, and the high value of the items.

pohian@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on August 05, 2014.
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