Woman steals diamond ring worth B300,000

JEWELLERY THEFT

Woman steals diamond ring worth B300,000

A woman stole a diamond ring worth 300,000 baht from a jewellery shop in a shopping mall in Bangkok's Kannayao district yesterday from shop owner Rattana Sajathep, who previously made headlines when she was the victim of a shady house deal. Ratchaprapa Sajjanawakul, formerly known as Rattana Sajathep, who fought an 11-year legal battle for her home, told police that a woman aged about 35 went to her shop on the second floor of the Fashion Island shopping mall on Ram Intra road and showed interest in a diamond ring for her wedding.

The woman asked to look at four or five diamond rings and other gems. She spent about one hour before agreeing to buy a one-carat diamond ring for 300,000 baht. However, she claimed the ring would not fit her finger and wanted it enlarged, said Mrs Rattana.

The woman said she would ask a messenger to take the ring to have it enlarged at a shop on Silom road. Mrs Rattana asked her to pay a 10,000 baht deposit, but the woman claimed she did not carry cash. She said she would withdraw the cash from an ATM.

Mrs Rattana asked her daughter, Nasama Sajjanawakul, to go with the woman to withdraw the money. Later she found the 300,000-baht diamond ring had disappeared. Mrs Rattana phoned her daughter, but Miss Nasama left her mobile phone in her car.

Soon after, her daughter returned to the shop and told her that the woman immediately left the shopping mall and took a taxi.

Mrs Rattana said she alerted Jor Sor 100, the traffic radio station, and asked for help to contact the taxi driver.

Taxi driver Prasit Saepu, 47, said a female passenger asked him to drop her at Min Buri police station. He was not aware the woman was a thief.

The woman later asked him to drop her in front of Nopparat Rajathanee hospital and paid 40 baht for the fare.

Police will examine images from the shopping mall's security cameras and question Mrs Rattana and the taxi driver.

Mrs Rattana's long battle over the rights to her townhouse, which a developer built on public land, drew public attention to her plight. It ended in December 2005 when she received 12.5 million baht in compensation from the government and the developer.