Hours after it starts, Hong Kong jewellery fair hit with two thefts worth more than HK$500,000

A necklace and two bags of pearls, worth more than HK$500,000 in total, were stolen in two thefts reported on the first day of the international jewellery show in Hong Kong yesterday, according to police.
The thefts transpired at the AsiaWorld-Expo venue of the annual Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair in Lantau.
The first case happened about four hours after the show opened yesterday. Staff from one exhibitor found a female visitor from the mainland stealing a necklace worth US$60,000 from a booth at about 2pm. Staff gave chase when the woman left the booth, according to police.
“Officers on site intercepted the woman and recovered the stolen property. The 23-year-old woman was arrested for theft,” a police spokesman said.
About an hour later, police received the other report of theft after two bags of pearls, worth HK$60,000, were stolen from another booth.
Police are treating the case as theft, and detectives from the New Territories South regional crime unit are investigating.
Separately yesterday, a suspected thief from the mainland was arrested in possession of a fake diamond that police believed she intended to swap for a real gem less than an hour before the show opened.
