Buyer at TSL Stole $1.4m Diamonds to Fund Gambling Habit

(IDEX Online) - A Hong Kong diamond buyer has been jailed after stealing diamonds worth HK$11 million (USD1.4 million) to fund his gambling habit.

Mui Ka-fai, 63, was a procurement manager at Tse Sui Luen Jewellery (TSL), one of the largest jewelers in Asia-Pacific, with over 480 retail stores globally. He was responsible for procuring small diamonds and recording consignment transactions.

He was sentenced to six years and eight months after he pleaded guilty to three counts of theft at Hong Kong's High Court.

The court heard that he stole 2,557.35 carats of diamonds in 31 transactions involving three suppliers between April 2023 and February 2024.

He claimed to be procuring them for TSL but then resold them for personal gain.

The prosecution said Mui exploited his control over the record-keeping systems and collected stones from regular suppliers before selling them to support his gambling.

He spent around HK$300,000 (USD 38,500) a month gambling on a betting account at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.

The judge said the thefts had been carefully executed and concealed, and might not have been discovered if Mui's employment had not been terminated for operational reasons in February 2024.

Mui, who had worked for the company since 1988, later admitted stealing the diamonds, fearing he would be found out during a company review.

In a statement TSL said: "Leveraging his familiarity with these suppliers, the former procurement manager obtained diamonds under the false pretense of ordering them on behalf of the group. Following his voluntary confession, the group reported the matter to the police in March 2024."

Pic shows a TSL store.