A man was suspected of having swallowed nine diamonds worth 6 million U.S. dollars when he was robbing a jewellery shop in Hong Kong, local media reported Friday.
The incident happened in a jewellery shop located in a office building in Hong Kong's busy Central District on Thursday afternoon, when most of the staff were away for lunch and only one female shopkeeper was in the store.
The shopkeeper opened the door for the robber, who falsely claimed to purchase diamonds, and was punched and kicked by him.
The robber tried to open the safe, triggering the security system. The shop owner and police were called and soon arrived at the scene.
The shopkeeper was found lying unconscious on the floor, while the suspect was found hiding in the store room.
The police found on the man eight diamonds valued at 5.4 million U.S. dollars in total, and suspected he had swallowed another nine.
The man was later taken to a nearby hospital.
Initial investigation showed that the man, holding a Jordanian passport and arriving in Hong Kong on a tourist visa, had been in the shop for a while earlier Thursday, apparently for scouting.
The crime squad of the Central district was on the case.
