Diamonds worth US$1m stolen while on show
(China Daily)
Updated: 2004-05-14 22:58

A pack of diamonds, reportedly worth around US$1 million, was stolen on Thursday afternoon from the 4th Shanghai International Jewellery Fair at the Shanghai International Exhibition Centre, sources said.

The stolen stones were superior quality processed diamonds (0.01 - 0.15 cts), said Chen Rongrong, a spokeswoman of Shanghai Public Security Bureau.

The total value of the diamonds has not been released, Chen said on Friday, but China Central Television (CCTV) reported earlier that total losses might be around US$1 million and that the diamonds were owned by Qingdao Jinghua Diamond & Jewellery Co Ltd, one of the exhibitors from East China's Shandong Province.

Police said the diamonds were stolen around 4 pm when the exhibitor was busy gathering its products into a backpack in preparation to a move to ShanghaiMart in western Shanghai for another three-day show.

The exhibition hall at that time was "a little bit crowded and in chaos," said the CCTV report.

Four visitors went to the company's booth to talk to the staff, said the report.

The four then asked for a look at some diamond samples but within a few minutes all of them and the backpack with the diamonds had disappeared, said the report, which quoted exhibition staff.

The exhibitor also lost some 50,000 yuan (US$6,046) in cash and a cellular phone, according to the report.

"The details are still under the investigation; I just got the news this morning," said Liu Zhiheng, marketing director of Hong Kong-based Neway International Trade Fairs, the main organizer of the event on Friday.

According to the organizer, the exhibition is still being held in ShanghaiMart until Sunday but more strict safety measures have been taken.

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