Filipino tourist who stole diamond caught in Bangkok

A Filipino tourist who stole a diamond was caught by police in Thailand.

Rolly Fernandez, 49, reportedly snatched a diamond necklace from a jewellery store in the Pathum Wan district of Bangkok in March.

CCTV footage shows the tourist talking to staff before swiping the accessory while the employee was distracted. He left for the Philippines on the same day carrying the 9.4-carat diamond and 20 grammes of gold worth more than 250,000 baht (5,652 GBP).

Police Major General Teeradej Thumsutee, commander of the Investigation Division of the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB), said Rolly was arrested after landing at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport on September 5.

He was wanted on a warrant issued by the Southern Bangkok Criminal Court on May 25 for 'theft by disguise or other means to prevent recognition'.

The police chief said: ‘During the arrest, the suspect admitted that he was the culprit in the security camera footage. He was handed over to Pathumwan Police Station for further legal action.

'I would like to warn jewellery shops to still be careful of customers who dress well and look well-off. They might be disguising themselves as criminals who take advantage of staff's inattentiveness in order to steal. I ask all shop owners to be more careful, ask to see customers' ID cards or passports, check their products, install high-resolution CCTV cameras, and set up alarm systems to alert nearby police stations.'