The Blue Diamond Affair is a series of unsolved crimes and diplomatic relations sparked by House of Saud's 1989 jewelry theft by a Thai employee. The affair has deteriorated relations between Saudi Arabia and Thailand for nearly 30 years.
Video Blue Diamond Affair
Theft and recovery
In 1989, Kriangkrai Techamong, a Thai worker, stole jewelry and other precious gems from Prince Faisal bin Fahd's palace, where he was employed as a janitor. Kriangkrai has access to the prince's bedroom and hides jewelry stolen in a vacuum bag in the palace. These included precious blue diamonds and other gems, which Kriangkrai then managed to send to his home in Lampang Province, Thailand.
The investigation of the Royal Thai Police by a team led by Lieutenant General Chalor Kerdthes led to Kriangkrai's arrest and restoration of most of the stolen jewelry. Kriangkai was sentenced to seven years in prison, but he was released after three years when he worked with the police and confessed.
Lieutenant-General Chalor's team flew to Saudi Arabia to return the stolen goods. However, the Saudi authorities found that the blue diamond was gone and that about half of the gems returned were fake.
Mohammad al-Ruwaili, a Saudi businessman close to the Saudi royal family, traveled to Bangkok to investigate on his own. He disappeared on February 12, 1990 and was alleged to have been killed. A few days before his departure, three officials from the Saudi Embassy had been shot dead in Bangkok. The killings remain unsolved, and have nothing to do with the theft of jewelry that has been set, although the Saudi government sees "... that the Thai government is not enough to solve the mystery surrounding the murder of Al-Ruwaili and three other Saudi diplomats."
Lieutenant General Chalor was later charged and convicted of ordering a 1995 killing of the wife and son of a jeweler allegedly involved in an affair, and he was sentenced to death. Thailand's Supreme Court upheld the verdict and sentenced Chalor to death on October 16, 2009. Six other policemen were also convicted of involvement in the killings. However, Chalor's penalty was reduced to fifty years in prison by King Bhumibol Adulyadej on the 84th Birthday of the King.
Maps Blue Diamond Affair
Diplomatic and economic reactions
Relations between the two countries deteriorated following the killings. Saudi Arabia stopped issuing work visas for Thailand and made its own citizens not to visit Bangkok. Diplomatic missions are downgraded to the level of
Aftermath
On March 17, 2016, Kriangkrai Techamong, 65, told reporters at his home in Lampang that he would become a monk for the rest of his life to repent for his dishonest acts. He has spent nearly five years in prison in Thailand for his theft. Kriangkrai said he believed that the lost Blue Berlian was cursed and said the theft had brought a series of disasters to himself and his family.
Chalor Kerdthes was granted a royal pardon and was released in August 2015. He was present at the Kriangkrai ordination ceremony.
References
Further reading
- "Thai Blue Diamond Affair: Kingdom demands justice" (Archive) Arab News . July 4, 2014.
- Ramsey, Adam, Murder, Curse, and Stolen Gems: The 'Blue Diamond Affair' Still Has a Saudi-Thai Relationship. Representative News , 2015-10-02.
External links
- Blue Diamond Affair Timeline
- Saudi delegates Help Reveal Thai Crimes Group: Police New York Times
- A warrant issued for Saudi killing
- Missing pillar in Thai-Gulf bond
- WikiLeaks Cable: Blue Berlian Curse
- The fate of Al-Ruwaili 'More Important than Diamond'
- The Presiding Judge Changed the Mars Al-Ruwaili Ruling
- The Blue Diamond Affair (novel)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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