Diamond buyer jailed for stealing HK$11 million in gems to fund gambling habit
Judge says thefts by ex-Tse Sui Luen Jewellery employee Mui Ka-fai between April 2023 and February 2024 ‘carefully executed and covered up’
A Hong Kong court has sentenced a former jewellery procurement manager to six years and eight months behind bars for stealing HK$11 million (US$1.4 million) worth of diamonds from suppliers to fund his gambling habit.
Mui Ka-fai, 63, pleaded guilty on Monday to three counts of theft for reselling the small diamonds he misappropriated for personal gain while working for Tse Sui Luen Jewellery between April 2023 and February 2024.
Sentencing the defendant on Friday, High Court Judge Andrew Chan Hing-wai said Mui had abused his position and betrayed the trust placed in him by his employer and clients.
“The thefts were carefully executed and covered up,” he said. “But for the imminent termination of his employment, those thefts would not have been discovered instantly.”