Young girl a suspect in audacious diamond theft at MBS

SINGAPORE - A young girl allegedly swiped a diamond ornament worth several hundred thousand dollars from a shop at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) on Christmas night last year.

Evening daily Shin Min Daily News reported yesterday that a man and a woman, with a girl who looked around 10 years old, had entered the Bulgari store at MBS. They behaved like a family.

But while they were there, the girl allegedly swiped a diamond ornament worth several hundred thousand dollars from a display case.

She was caught on closed-circuit television, kneeling in front of the case and appeared to reach for something, while the man and woman were talking to shop staff.

The police confirmed that a theft had occurred in the building along Bayfront Avenue, and they had been called in at 11.08 pm on Christmas night. Investigations are ongoing.

Shopowners at MBS were issued letters from the police alerting them to the incident.

On Friday in Hong Kong, a girl believed to be aged between 12 and 14 is said to have unlocked a case in Emperor Jewellery shop at the 1881 Heritage shopping mall in Tsim Sha Tsui.

She allegedly stole a necklace worth HK$36 million (S$6.2 million), while two women and a man distracted the shop staff.

The modus operandi also bore similarities to an incident in Kuala Lumpur on Jan 16 last year. Three women and a girl, who appeared around 10 years old, made off with a RM5.2 million (S$1.9 million) yellow diamond ring.

This article by The Straits Times was published in MyPaper, a free, bilingual newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings.