The court heard that fellow Chinese national Chen Hanbo first contacted Mr Wu on WeChat in October 2023, asking if he was interested in a “quick job”.
When Ms. Wu said yes, Ms. Chen told her that the job was a high-risk one: replacing a genuine Tiffany diamond ring with a replica ring. Mr. Chen wouldn’t say how much Mr. Wu would earn, but reassured him that he wasn’t going to get pocket change.
On November 1st, the two flew to Singapore and visited the Marina Bay Sands casino.
Chen, who paid for Wu’s travel expenses, went to a Tiffany store alone to look for a diamond ring to exchange. They returned to China on November 3rd.
Six days later, Mr. Wu returned to Singapore alone on Mr. Chen’s instructions. Mr. Chen told him to go to the store, where he should look for the largest diamond ring and take a picture of its price tag.
Singapore jails Chinese man who stole casino chips by putting glue on his palms
Singapore jails Chinese man who stole casino chips by putting glue on his palms
Mr. Wu went to the store and told the client advisor there that he was from Taiwan and was looking for a gift for his wife, a “large diamond ring.”
When the employee showed him the ring, Mr Wu asked for permission and then took a photo of the 3.18 carat ring and the S$318,000 price tag that came with it. He sent the photo to Cheng a while later.
He told the customer advisor that he intended to return in a few days to buy the real ring. She gave him her business card and wrote down her work hours on November 11th and details of the ring.
Mr. Wu returned to China the next day. Chen then told her that he would send her a replica ring by mail.
When Mr. Wu received the replica, he told Mr. Chen that the “string” was a little too long, presumably referring to the string attached to the price tag. Chen said no one would notice this.
On November 20, Wu again paid for Chen’s travel expenses and returned to Singapore alone.
He went to Tiffany’s store and asked for the customer advisor who had previously dealt with him, but she wasn’t there.
Team manager Pearlin Tong took care of him instead. When Mr. Wu told her he was looking for a diamond ring that he had seen in her store earlier, she showed him a tray of rings in various carats.
He grabbed the replica ring in his pocket, then picked up the real ring with his other hand and looked at it.
To distract herself, Mr. Tong asked her to look at another ring. While she opened a drawer near her, Ms. Wu put the replica back on the tray and pocketed her real ring. She didn’t notice the switch.
Ms. Wu then stated that she wanted to buy another ring in order to find an opportunity to leave the store, and then said that she had changed her mind.
Tong noticed that the texture of the replica price tag was different. She told Mr. Wu that the ring was not Tiffany’s, but Mr. Wu did not respond.
Another employee examined him, at which time Wu took out the real ring from his pocket and asked for forgiveness. Police were called and he was arrested.
Singapore domestic helper jailed for stealing $43,000 in valuables from employer
Singapore domestic helper jailed for stealing $43,000 in valuables from employer
Deputy Prosecutor Kelly Ng asked for a sentence of at least 42 months. She told the court that Wu’s crimes were “highly premeditated” and had a cross-border element, with Wu and Cheng targeting Singapore for their lucrative criminal activities.
Prosecutors added that Wu also stole the rings for personal financial gain in order to make some quick cash.
She acknowledged that Mr Wu had no criminal record in Singapore, cooperated with the investigation and pleaded guilty at an early stage.
In mitigation, Mr. Wu (who is not represented) made a plea for leniency, asking the court to take into account the fact that he did not remove the real ring from the store.
He also said that his family’s situation, including the fact that his daughter was partially paralyzed in an accident, is causing him “a lot of stress.” “Therefore, I made the mistake of committing this crime,” he said in Mandarin.
For the domestic theft charge, Wu could have been sentenced to up to seven years in prison and fined.