A stallholder at the Bangkok Diamond and Jewellery Fair had lodged a complaint with police in Nonthaburi saying a couple had switched the real diamond for a fake before vanishing. Police examined footage of the fair from the Muang Thong Thani Exhibition Centre’s CCTV cameras and identified the suspected thieves.
When they were picked up at Suvarnabhumi, both Jiang Xulian and Hae Ying denied any involvement in the larceny. Doctors performed X-rays on the two and the images revealed the outline of a gemstone in the intestine of 39-year-old Ms Xulian.
Doctors gave her laxatives in an effort to assist nature. These did not work and Ms Xulian eventually granted permission for doctors to retrieve the diamond to alleviate the discomfort the diamond was causing.
Police say Ms Xulian will remain in hospital until she recovers and then will appear before Nonthaburi magistrates with Hae Ying. Chief police investigator Mana Tienmaungpak noted that if the pair were found guilty of theft they could be sent to prison for up to three years.
Bangkok doctors retrieve stolen gem from stomach of tourist
News in Asia
Surgeons at the Police Hospital in Bangkok have successfully recovered a stolen gem from the stomach of a Chinese tourist. Following complaints that two tourists had stolen the THB10 million diamond, police arrested the suspects at the city’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on Friday.