Chinese thieves steal US$900,000 in jewellery as oblivious guard keeps watch outside shop

Tunnelling thieves stole more than 6 million yuan (US$877,500) worth of jewellery from a shop in southern China while a security guard sat outside oblivious to the crime.

Staff turned up to work at the Zhou Liu Fu jewellery shop in Laibin, Guangxi province, on Wednesday morning to find a hole in the floor and most of the stock - largely gold necklaces and silver bracelets - gone.

A shop director, surnamed Wang, told local newspaper Nanguo Jinbao the thieves had bypassed the security guard by digging a hole from the basement into the first floor shop, located in the heart of Laibin’s central district.

Security cameras inside the shop were also knocked out in the overnight raid.

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Wang said the shop’s lights were left on each night and a guard stationed outside the front door.

The thieves were able to bypass the shop’s security measures by coming up through the newly-built mall’s unoccupied basement.

They then cut the wires to the security cameras before making off with most of the merchandise.

An officer from the nearby Chengzhong police bureau said the crime was being investigated.