Tourist swallows diamond after stealing it at expo

Sri Lankan stall owner Suresh de Silva shows a 1.5 carat diamond which is similar to a stone a Chinese man stole from him at the start of a gem and jewellery exehibition in Colombo on September 5, 2012. The Chinese man is said to have swallowed the stone valued at $13,800, but was caught, and taken in custody, to the Colombo National Hospital for a dose of laxatives (AFP)

A Sri Lankan security official and uniformed police escort a Chinese national who is accused of stealing a $13,800 diamond by swallowing it while pretending to appraise the stone at Sri Lanka's main gem and jewellery exhibition in Colombo on September 5, 2012. The 32-year-old Chinese man had asked the stall owner for a close inspection of the diamond, before swallowing it, on the opening day of Facets Sri Lanka, an annual exhibition in Colombo (AFP)

Published Wednesday, September 05, 2012

By Reuters

Sri Lankan police arrested a Chinese tourist suspected of swallowing a diamond worth Rs1.8 million ($13,800) on Wednesday at the island nation's biggest international gem and jewellery exhibition.

Chow Cheng, 32, is believed to have swallowed the diamond as he inspected it at the exhibition, attended by buyers from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, India and Europe, police said.

"His intention was to steal it," Police Spokesman Ajith Rohana told Reuters. "The x-ray shows the diamond is in his throat."

Suresh Christopher Wijekoon, owner of the exhibition stall, said Chow had tried to switch the original diamond with a synthetic one.

"He realised that I noticed it. Then he immediately swallowed it," Wijekoon told Reuters.

The Indian Ocean island is famed for its blue sapphires, diamonds and a jewellery industry that accounted for $532 million of its export revenue in 2011.

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