Female jeweler jailed for 40 months for faking robbery

A female jeweler and an ex-prisoner who she hired to stage a fake jewelry heist were jailed 40 months and 20 months respectively on Monday for conspiring to defraud an insurer out of HK$2.5 million.

The 41-year-old female jewelry store owner, Leung Yim-kwan, was sentenced to jail for three-and-a-half years, after the District Court heard that she had faked an insurance claim by hiring a ex-prisoner released months ago to stage a robbery.

Ex-prisoner 31-year-old Tang Ka-kui was jailed for one year and eight months. While Leung had pleaded not guilty the charge, Tang pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to defraud and had testified against Leung for the prosecution.

In mitigation, lawyers for the defendants said Leung had a pair of young children to be taken care of and Tang had no idea of the value of the jewelry involved.

Leung also had told the court that she was in debt, as her business had gone down since the middle of 2019 because of the social environment and the pandemic situation.

Deputy District Judge Merinda Chow Yin-chu said the case was unusual and different from other robbery cases.

During the sentencing, Chow said Leung masterminded the meticulous two-month-long plan, and said her action was based on destroying the trust the insurance industry bestows on insureds.

She added there are no reasons to reduce Leung’s sentences after listening to her mitigation, thus sentencing her to a 40-month imprisonment.

While noting that Tang was only taking orders from Leung, Chow said Tang had received HK$100,000 as a reward after the fake robbery. She also noted that Tang has a long criminal record and had committed the crime within months of his release, which were the aggravating factors.

But she gave Tang credit for cooperating after the arrest, thus reducing half of his sentence to a 20-month imprisonment. Chow also acknowledged that the insurer did not suffer any loss.

Leung and Tang conspired to defraud insurance company AON by arranging a robbery between February and May where Tang took a suitcase containing 328 pieces of jewelry worth HK$2.49 million from Leung at Jordan MTR Station.

Leung reported to police on April 22, 2020, claiming she was robbed of her suitcase, and also filed a compensation claim to AON that evening.

After investigation, officers found Leung had raised the insured amount right before the “robbery” took place, and that she had accumulated a debt of HK$2 million due to her deteriorating jewelry business.

On May 5, 2020, police identified and arrested Tang. Tang then told police that Leung contacted him two months before the “robbery” and offered him HK$100,000 to carry out the job.

Officers later found six pieces of jewelry that Leung claimed went missing at her office.