TSL manager admits diamond theft, remanded for sentencing
HK01 · 3 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Former Tse Sui Luen Jewellery (TSL) procurement manager Mui Ka-fai, 63, pleaded guilty in the High Court to three counts of theft involving 2,557.35 carats of diamonds linked to three suppliers, and sentencing was adjourned to August 14 while he remains in custody.
The court heard that the long-serving employee resold diamonds obtained in the company’s name, kept cash at home, converted part of it into Hong Kong dollars and deposited it into his Hong Kong Jockey Club betting account, where his average monthly betting reached about HK$300,000.
Key Points
- Mui had worked for TSL since 1988 and was the only employee responsible for buying melee diamonds of under 0.08 carat from different suppliers.
- The admitted offences covered dealings from 2023 to 2024, while the prosecution said he had used false pretences to obtain and resell diamonds from 2017 to 2023.
- The three theft charges involved diamonds from ISKKON Gems, R.A. Gem Centre Ltd and KGK Jewellery (HK) Ltd, with 31 unregistered consignment records worth about HK$11.15 million.
- After learning he would be laid off in February 2024, Mui appeared unusually busy and anxious, then told a supervisor he had stolen about HK$10 million in diamonds.
- Police later found five bags of melee diamonds weighing 444.668 carats and worth about HK$1.768 million in his safe, while other searches recovered stones valued at about HK$2 million.
Why It Matters
The case centres on a long-running abuse of trust inside a major Hong Kong jewellery retailer’s procurement process, with the court focusing on breach of honesty rather than treating the disclosure as a true surrender.
Sentencing on August 14 will show how the court weighs prolonged theft, gambling-driven motive and the defendant’s claim of family pressure after a career of more than three decades at the company.