SPOTLIGHT
A 2,100-carat 'diamond' said to be worth 315 million baht turns out to be worth a grand total of 200 baht
The giant diamond that was found to be a fake. |
This is how a genuine diamond looks. |
The story of a 2,100-carat diamond, which its owners claimed was worth 315 million baht when it was stolen last month by a thief who fled on a motorcycle and was later returned by a mystery man who arrived by taxi, is in the running to be the hoax of the year.
Don Muang police were alerted on July 24 after a prospective buyer snatched an uncut 2,100-carat colourless South African diamond from a job brokerage firm, Sapa International Service. The thief fled on a motorcycle.
Police discovered the large rock belonged to Jakkaphan Pramulsuk, 71, from Chanthaburi.
He informed police and the media that he brought two giant diamonds from a friend who travelled to Africa for 500,000 baht each about 15 years ago. The second one weighs about 1,750 carats. He also presented a certificate stating that the diamonds were genuine.
Police, however, became sceptical as to why the owner of the diamond was doing business with job broker Rinlapas Punyajiraphat, 58, who only works occasionally as a small-time gems broker.
She told police many foreigners had expressed interest in buying the diamond, but Mr Jakkaphan had not made up his mind.
She said the thief, who claimed to be an aide to a high-flying politician, came to examine the stone.
Police became more suspicious after hearing Mrs Rinlapas' account of how she and the shop owner did not run a background check on the interested buyer and allowed the man to take the precious stone outside the shop to look at it in the sunlight.
The man then ran off with the stone to a waiting motorcycle.
Police accompanied Mr Jakkaphan to the Holiday Inn in the Silom area, where he stayed.
He refused to let experts check the other stone, citing security reasons.
A warrant was issued for the thief's arrest because the two victims claimed Promma Chanmali, 52, was the man involved.
Police took them to the northern province of Chiang Rai to identify Mr Promma. Upon seeing the man, who is the owner of a jewellery shop in Wiang Pa Pao district, the two said he was not the thief.
Police had to quickly withdraw their warrant.
The next day, Metropolitan Police chief Aswin Kwanmuang admitted the mistake and took the blame, adding that police dealt with the case in haste and the diamond might be a fake.
The certificate from the International Gemological Institute (IGI) which guaranteed the diamond's quality might also be a fake, he said.
The next day the thief contacted the owner of the stone, demanding he withdraw a police complaint in exchange for the diamond. Mr Jakkaphan agreed.
The thief returned the diamond, which was packed in a powered drink box, back to the place where he snatched it from and fled.
To the surprise of many who had closely followed the "Great Diamond Robbery" with excitement, the story ended there and then.
But police did not leave the public wondering for long. They came out to confirm the diamond was a fake after contacting the IGI office in Sathon district.
IGI staff found the certificate had been tampered with because it was issued for another precious stone, not a diamond.
At the same time, Pol Lt-Col Natagorn Kumsap took the stone to Somchai Pornjindarak, the president of the Thai Gem and Jewellery Traders Association, for a check.
The expert found the stone was made of cubic zirconia, a mineral synthesised for use as a fake diamond. The mineral is sold at 500 baht a kilogramme and this stone, weighting 400 grammes, was valued at about 200 baht, not 315 million baht as many thought.
"A genuine diamond of this size would have fetched no less than a billion baht. Only foreign billionaires could afford to collect them," he said.
Pol Lt-Gen Aswin said the case was a ploy to fool a victim into paying a high price for a fake diamond, similar to an amateur gang of robbers trying to fool someone into paying for fake gold.
The real victim in this case was the IGI, he said, adding that the institute could file a complaint over the forged certificate.
But for Mr Promma, who was accused of stealing the "diamond", the real victims were the police and the gem business as a whole.
"Thai police should take this hoax as a big lesson," he said. "They should thoroughly investigate the case before issuing an arrest warrant against any person."
The fake diamond story also tarnished the image of Thai gem traders. Clients overseas will now be suspicious about the authenticity of precious stones sold in the local market.
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