Mainland duo accused of taking HK$2.7m diamond ring from shop

Two mainlanders allegedly made off with a diamond ring worth HK$2.7 million from a shop in South Korea and were later arrested when they arrived at Hong Kong airport. Mo Riming, 44, and Zhou Yaoxing, 43, each pleaded not guilty in the District Court to one count of money laundering.

Judge Douglas Yau Tak-hong at first called into question whether money laundering, rather than theft, was an appropriate charge.

He later ruled that it was suitable after he accepted that money laundering could involved proceeds other than in pecuniary form.

The court heard that on October 11 last year, Mo and Zhou visited the Richemont Korea Cartier jewellery shop in Pusan, South Korea, and asked a manager to show them rings and earrings with diamonds weighing over two carats. They were taken to a VIP room, where they were shown a 3.19 carat diamond ring, valued at about HK$2.7 million, and a pair of diamond earrings, worth about HK$775,000.

Zhou later said he wanted to buy the jewels the next day and asked a shop assistant to wrap them up, during which time Mo distracted her by repeatedly asking her about the packing paper and the price of the ring, senior public prosecutor Jonathan Man Tak-ho said.

After the assistant finished packing the jewellery, Zhou asked her not to open it before they came again. He gave the worker US$1,000 as down payment for the ring and left. But the manager later felt Mo and Zhou had acted suspiciously and carried out a check. She found the diamond ring missing. She went through the video captured by a surveillance camera and saw that Zhou had taken the ring. She then reported the matter to police, the court was told.