Singaporean Wanted In 304 Million Baht Heist Surrenders In Bangkok

[sriracha john]

Suspect surrenders at embassy in Bangkok

Time has run out for the man who allegedly pulled off last year's Cortina Watch heist.

The New Paper understands that Jerry Ee, 35, a former senior supervisor with the luxury watch retailer, surrendered himself in Bangkok at about 9am yesterday.

He is suspected of stealing more than $13 million *304,613,733 Thai Baht* worth of watches and more than $27,000 cash from Cortina's Raffles City outlet around Christmas last year.

It is one of the largest heists in Singapore.

Ee was with his Singapore lawyer when he surrendered.

He had with him part of the loot. It could not be confirmed how much that loot was worth, but Singapore police, in a statement to the media, said that 200 pieces of the stolen watches were recovered.

The lawyer went to Bangkok about five days ago to meet Ee and persuaded him to turn himself in.

The police spokesman confirmed that Ee, who can speak English, Mandarin, and Thai, is now being held by the Royal Thai Police while arrangements are made to fly him back to Singapore.

Police spokesman Stanley Norbert said Singapore police are working with the Thai police to bring him back to Singapore for further investigations.

Bangkok is said to be Ee's favourite haunt. He frequently visited the Thai capital to pray at a temple for luck in his work.

When The New Paper visited his Bukit Merah flat yesterday, no one answered the door. The light was on and the curtains were drawn. Ee, who divorced in 2001, was living with his mother, stepfather, and his 4-year-old son there.

His ex-wife has custody of their 8-year-old daughter. It was reported that the couple divorced over money.

Ee's surrender closes a three-month search that began after the theft. The heist took place after Cortina's Raffles City outlet closed on Christmas Day. When it re-opened the next day, 386 timepieces of assorted brands, along with 194 pieces of accompanying guarantee cards, and more than $27,000 cash were found to be missing.

The stolen items included a rare set of Vacheron Constantin Les Masques watches, and Rolex, Panerai, Audemars Piguet, and Girard-Perregaux watches. Security guards on duty on the night of the robbery said no alarm went off and there were no signs of a break-in at the store. Cleaners who worked through the night told police they did not hear anything.

The manager of a store near the outlet said there were no signs of a break-in.

Ee did not turn up after the robbery was discovered and was subsequently sacked by Cortina. He was placed on Interpol's 'red notice', an alert issued to Interpol's 186 member countries to seek the arrest of wanted persons for extradition.

His mother and stepfather had gone to Taiwan on holiday before Christmas and returned home on December 26, according to previous media reports. They became worried when he did not return home after a few days.

Ee is listed as the owner of several telecommunications and air-conditioning companies.

In February, Cortina filed a suit in the High Court seeking $13.3 million in compensation from Ee. The amount is based on the market value of the watches, and also includes the cash that was stolen and his one-month salary of $2,130.

Ee is the only son of parents who divorced when he was young. He studied at Labrador Primary School and Tanglin Technical School. According to friends and colleagues, he was well-liked and took his work seriously.

In the late 1990s, with some friends and work associates, Ee started several firms selling handphones and air-conditioning services, but they shut down within a few years. He then ventured into the handphone business in 2000, and entered into three partnerships by 2002.

Ee started working at Cortina on April 28, 2004 as a customer relations associate and rose to become a senior supervisor about 1-1/2 years ago.

Mr Jimmy Lim, Cortina's general manager, had reportedly said that Ee was hardworking and that he was willing to teach younger people. Close friends said he was a successful watch salesman who earned about $10,000 a month from commissions and had a pool of regular customers who described him as 'professional, sincere, helpful and trustworthy'.

Friends also described him as rather flashy, driving a BMW and was always dressed smartly in crisp, long-sleeved shirts and pants.

But Ee also had a dark side.

In October 2003, he was declared a bankrupt after failing to repay about $12,000 he owed to DBS Bank. The debt was blamed on business failure and overspending.

That same year, four other banks and a leasing company filed claims worth a total of $85,400 for credit loan facilities, credit card debt and renovation bills. Ee was discharged from bankruptcy last July.

But friends said he could not control his spending.

Ee also had a weakness for gambling, and a former girlfriend said he travelled frequently to Genting Highlands.

He also loved golf and the finer things in life like good food and fine wine.

- The New Paper (Singapore) / 2009-03-19

[sriracha john]

According to sources, he fled to Malaysia by road before flying to Bangkok, a place he frequented several times a year with friends.

Straits Times

Ex-staff to be back today

The man believed to be behind a $13 million watch heist is expected to be brought back to Singapore from Bangkok today.

But first, Jerry Ee, 35, will have to settle with the Thai authorities an offence of overstaying in Thailand.

He turned himself in at the Singapore Embassy in Bangkok on Tuesday. It appears that he went to Thailand soon after a theft occurred at the Cortina store at Raffles City last Christmas.

Singaporeans do not need a visa to enter Thailand, but need permission to stay beyond 30 days. It appears that his time ran out on Jan 26.

Thai law allows the offence to be compounded with a fine of 500 baht (S$21) for every day overstayed to a maximum sum of 20,000 baht. This is offered only to overstayers who come forward voluntarily.

Ee, a senior supervisor at Cortina's Raffles City store, allegedly made off with 386 watches of six designer brands - Audemars Piguet, Girard-Perregaux, Panerai, Patek Philippe, Rolex, and Vacheron Constantin - and 194 guarantee cards.

The loss of the watches and his disappearance made him a wanted man. International police network Interpol alerted its 187 member nations to arrest him on the spot if he was found, and extradite him to Singapore.

According to sources, he fled to Malaysia by road before flying to Bangkok, a place he frequented several times a year with friends.

This time, however, he did not check into his usual hotel, Ratchada City Hotel, according to checks by The Straits Times.

On Tuesday, he surfaced at the embassy with his lawyer and a childhood friend who is married to a Thai and lives in Singapore.

Ee also turned in more than 200 watches, some of which sell for up to $500,000 *11,715,912 Thai Baht* apiece.

- Straits Times (Singapore) / 2009-03-19

[sriracha john]

Between resolving his 2 month overstay and processing of an extradition, something tells me he may not be "back to Singapore today"...

[DaleBlue]

He turn himself in because he could hardly sell his loot for more than 500 Baht a piece at Patpong. In fact the more commenly traded "Real fake" sell much better than his "Fake fake".

[sriracha john]

Jerry Ee

INTERPOL

========================================================

Singapore Watch Heist Suspect Surrenders In Thailand

SINGAPORE (AFP)--A fugitive wanted in one of Singapore's biggest theft cases has surrendered to the city-state's embassy in Bangkok, police said Wednesday.

Jerry Ee, who is suspected of stealing luxury watches worth more than $5 million from a shop in Singapore, is in police custody in Thailand, Singapore police said.

Ee, a Singaporean, had been on the run since the theft was discovered on Dec. 26 last year at the high-end Cortina Watch shop but surfaced at the embassy Tuesday. He is a former employee of the business.

"Police confirm that Jerry Ee, the suspect in Cortina Watch theft case, is currently in the custody of the Royal Thai Police and more than 200 pieces of the stolen watches were recovered," Singapore police said in a statement.

The force said it was working with the Royal Thai Police to bring Ee back for investigations.

Singapore's The Straits Times newspaper reported that Ee, accompanied by his lawyer and a childhood friend, hauled three large suitcases and three backpacks into the Singapore embassy as he turned himself in.

Ee is suspected of stealing 386 designer watches, including timepieces by Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and Rolex, local media reports said.

Interpol, the global police body, issued a worldwide alert for Ee three weeks after the theft was discovered.

The theft is one of the largest in recent memory in Singapore, which prides itself on tight security and a low crime rate.

[sriracha john]

Ee, a senior supervisor at Cortina's Raffles City store, allegedly made off with 386 watches of six designer brands - Audemars Piguet, Girard-Perregaux, Panerai, Patek Philippe, Rolex, and Vacheron Constantin - and 194 guarantee cards.

Ee also turned in more than 200 watches, some of which sell for up to $500,000 *11,715,912 Thai Baht* apiece.

He turn himself in because he could hardly sell his loot for more than 500 Baht a piece at Patpong. In fact the more commenly traded "Real fake" sell much better than his "Fake fake".

He apparently did ok with the still-missing 186 or so watches.

Somehow I don't see someone engineering a 300 Million Baht heist... in order to hock them at a Patpong market stall.

[djlest]

Wow thats impressive

Hope he can reaad Gors Prison Blog in time

[jamesjdaly]

Ee's for the high jump when he gets home!!!

[sunreader]

Have you got the time on you mate?

[TAWP]

Don't do the crime if you can't tell the time?

[sriracha john]

Some stolen Cortina watches could have been sold in international market

SINGAPORE: Jerry Ee, the former Cortina watch staff who pulled off one of Singapore's biggest heists, is still in the custody of the Royal Thai Police.

The 35-year-old, who made away with some S$8 million worth of watches from Cortina last year, surrendered at the Singapore embassy in Bangkok on Tuesday.

It is understood that Cortina's bosses from Singapore are now in Bangkok.

386 luxury watches went missing at Cortina's Raffles City outlet on Boxing Day last year, along with cash and guarantee cards totalling S$13 million.

So far, only about 200 of the stolen watches have been recovered.

Industry sources said the missing timepieces could have been sold off and might be passing hands in the international market.

One luxury watch dealer Channel NewsAsia spoke to said authorities should release the serial numbers of the watches in question, to make sure that shops in Singapore do not deal with stolen items.

A S$45,000 Vasheron Constantin watch was one of the many brands that went missing from the Cortina shop. And in the last few months, some customers have been questioning if the watches they are buying could be stolen items.

But Passions Watch Exchange said it always give a guarantee. Its operations director, Jonathan Tee, said: "All these pieces, we have 100% buyback guarantee to make sure they are safe. If there's any police case... we give a full refund."

He believes that the still-missing watches may have a common trait if they appear on the market.

He said: "I don't suppose those watches he took away with him come with the boxes... Papers and certificates, maybe. But boxes, it doesn't make sense. 300 over watches, when you carry (the boxes), it will be one big luggage alone."

Watch dealers say they take precautions and screen sellers by asking them questions on the background of the watch they are selling.

- Channel News Asia / 2009-03-19

[sriracha john]

Man who allegedly stole luxury watches flown back from Thailand

SINGAPORE: The man believed to be responsible for the S$13 million luxury watch heist last Christmas has been flown back to Singapore.

Jerry Ee was accompanied by Singapore police officers on a flight from Thailand, which arrived at about 8pm on Thursday.

He was immediately escorted to the police headquarters at Cantonment Road, and is expected to remain in custody.

The former Cortina Watch employee allegedly stole 386 luxury watches - some of which retail for up to half a million dollars each.

He was believed to have fled to Thailand via Malaysia soon after the heist.

On Tuesday, Jerry Ee turned himself in at the Singapore Embassy in Bangkok, along with more than half of the watches he had allegedly stolen.

The 35-year-old was accompanied by his lawyer and a Singaporean childhood friend.

Meanwhile, police investigations are ongoing, and Channel NewsAsia understands Jerry Ee is likely to be formally charged over the next few days.

He also faces a civil suit filed against him by his former employer.

- Channel News Asia / 2009-03-20

[JimsKnight]

Looks like a geek criminal to me!

Tick-tock, tick-tock! Time to do some time.

[sriracha john]

Jerry Ee, the main suspect in Cortina Watch theft case, tries to avoid photographers upon arriving at the police Cantonment Complex in Singapore, on March 19. He is suspected of stealing 386 designer watches, including timepieces by Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and Rolex.

AFP

Singapore watch heist suspect extradited

The main suspect in one of Singapore's biggest theft cases has been extradited from Thailand after he surrendered to the city-state's embassy in Bangkok, according to police.

Jerry Ee, who is suspected of stealing luxury watches worth more than five million US dollars, arrived in Singapore late Thursday and was whisked from the airport under police escort to the Criminal Investigation Department office.

Ee, a Singaporean, had been on the run since the theft was discovered on December 26 last year at the high-end Cortina Watch shop, where he used to work.

The suspect surfaced at the Singapore embassy in the Thai capital Tuesday.

He is suspected of stealing 386 designer watches, including timepieces by Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and Rolex. Police said more than 200 of the stolen watches have been recovered from Ee.

The theft is one of the largest in recent memory in Singapore, which prides itself on tight security and a low crime rate.

- AFP / 2009-03-20

[TAWP]

Trying to knock him out with the camera...?

[sriracha john]

Former Cortina employee charged with another 11 counts of CBT

SINGAPORE: Jerry Ee, the man allegedly behind Singapore's largest luxury watch heist, now faces another 11 counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT).

The former Cortina Watch employee is alleged to have taken 11 Rolex watches between May and December last year, before the multi-million dollar heist took place.

The watches, which retailed between S$6,133 and S$54,948 each, were worth over S$200,000.

The 35-year-old was brought back to Singapore last Friday from Thailand, where he fled to in December.

On Saturday, he was charged with one count of CBT.

Ee is alleged to have stolen 386 watches worth S$8.54 million in total, as well as cash amounting to S$27,137.

Ee faces a maximum sentence of 15 years jail and a fine on each charge if found guilty.

His case will be mentioned on April 3.

In a statement to the Singapore Exchange, Cortina said the 230 watches recovered from Ee have been valued at about S$4.6 million.

It revised the estimated maximum loss from the remaining watches which have yet to be found to about S$3.3 million.

- Channel News Asia / 2009-03-27

[sriracha john]

Ee faces 11 more charges

THE man accused of misappropriating more than $8.5 million in watches and cash from Cortina Watch on Dec 25 last year had 11 more charges filed against him on Friday.

These were for allegedly pocketing 11 Rolex watches worth about $200,000 between May and December last year.

Jerry Ee, 35, the former supervisor of the high-end watch retail outlet in Raffles City Shopping Centre, may face yet more criminal-breach-of-trust charges. He was remanded for another week for investigation, a court heard.

Ee surrendered at the Singapore Embassy in Bangkok on March 17, after having been on the run for three months. Interpol's 186 member countries had been alerted that Singapore wanted him extradited to face criminal charges.

On the day of his surrender, he was accompanied by his lawyer Amarick Gill and a childhood friend who is married to a Thai but lives here. Ee handed in more than 200 watches during his surrender.

Last Saturday, he found himself facing the first lot of charges linked to his alleged misappropriation of $27,137 and 386 watches worth $8.5 million last Dec 25.

In seeking another week's remand, the police prosecutor told District Judge John Ng that more similar charges could be brought against Ee.

Mr Gill said he hoped this would be the final adjournment because he needed access to his client as soon as possible.

Ee, who is also being sued by the luxury watch retailer for up to $13.3 million, is being remanded at the Central Police Division.

He will appear in court again next Friday. If convicted, he faces a jail term of up to 15 years and a fine on each charge.

- Straits Times / 2009-03-28

[Oberkommando]

Bangkok is said to be Ee's favourite haunt. He frequently visited the Thai capital to pray at a temple for luck in his work.

Came all that way to pray.

[sriracha john]

Fake ID & lax border patrols attract crooks

Foreign law-breakers hiding in Thailand

Coffin, death certificate, and funeral service.

Surely, the woman must be dead and the family was entitled to the US$5 million from her insurance policies.

But in Thailand, sometimes all is not as it seems.

With easily available forged documents and few questions asked, it appears that fugitives love calling Thailand home.

The recent theft of 386 watches worth more than $8 million from Cortina Watch and the subsequent surrender of its former employee, Jerry Ee, 35, in Bangkok, has once again thrown Thailand into the spotlight.

From arms dealers to armed robbers and paedophiles, Thailand unfortunately attracts its fair share of dubious guests.

Singaporean rogue lawyer David Rasif was last seen there in 2006 before he disappeared with his clients' money worth millions. And in 2005, Singaporean Darwis Rianto Lim, then 31, was arrested in Bangkok for allegedly trying to buy sex with underage boys over the Internet. The Temasek Polytechnic lecturer is still on the run.

In the case mentioned earlier, the supposedly dead woman was very much alive and was tracked down by Singaporean private investigator Ponno Kalastree, 62, the managing director of Mainguard International.

Mr Kalastree has been in the business for more than 32 years and travels to Thailand once every three months to follow leads or to supervise his operatives working on cases there. He said one reason fugitives favour Thailand is that it is surrounded by countries such as Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar. It indirectly offers crooks several exit routes.

Mr Kalastree told The New Paper: 'Whoever takes refuge in Thailand always plans exit routes out to one of these countries.'

Last February, a law professor at Bangkok's Thammasat University, Punthip Kanchanachittra Saisoonthorn, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that Thailand's borders with Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar were poorly patrolled. He said these countries were also less likely than Thailand to extradite criminals.

And border control is important in keeping criminals in check.

Ms Saleemah Ismail, 40, president of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (Unifem) Singapore, said sex crimes are often committed across borders. It may happen in one country, the offender may be from another and may take refuge in a third. Unifem is a non-governmental organisation that champions women's rights on issues like domestic violence and sex trafficking. Asian criminals might prefer to hide in a region they are familiar with, she said.

"Asian fugitives tend to go to a country where people look like them. They would want to go to a place where they can be invisible and go under the radar," she said.

And it becomes easier if criminals are able to pay off officials to turn a blind eye to their presence there, said Mr Kalastree.

He recounted how he was hired, last year, by a US insurance company to verify that an American man had died of a heart attack in Thailand.

That was what was stated in his Thai death certificate. His family stood to gain at least US$1 million.

But there was a clause in his insurance policy that they would not get any money if he died of cancer.

Checking himself into the same private Thai hospital as a stomach patient, just like the American, Mr Kalastree was able to track down the doctor who had treated the man.

And he managed to obtain the man's medical records that proved he had died of pancreatic cancer.

Mr Kalastree believes the doctor who had treated the man had been bribed to give an inaccurate cause of death in the certificate.

He handed over all the evidence to the insurance company, but does not know the outcome of the case.

Mr Kalastree claimed there are many forgers in Thailand who can produce anything from fake death certificates to fake passports.

He said he takes on several cases a year to verify death certificates as there are people who want to stage their own deaths for insurance claims.

The woman who had faked her own death had been living in the United States for several years and wanted to return to Thailand. There, her family claimed she had died and even had a funeral service for her, with a coffin. Mr Kalastree said he does not know if there was a body inside. They stood to gain US$5 million from her insurance policies.

But the insurance company got suspicious and before paying them the money, hired Mr Kalastree about eight years ago to verify her death. Mr Kalastree said he and his wife, Madam Dora Woo, 58, who works with him, managed to track her down to a province through one of her friends.

Armed with a Prada handbag and some expensive pastries worth about $400, they posed as tourists and visited her at home on the pretext of giving her the gifts from that friend.

He said: "We asked her to write a letter to her friend to acknowledge receiving the gifts and that she had met us so we could test her handwriting to prove she was indeed alive."

"She wrote the letter and we posed for pictures with her and took photographs of her family and her home to give to the client."

He does not know the outcome of that case as he said clients are not obliged to tell him how the case ended.

The Seattle newspaper claimed in a report that in downtown Bangkok, street vendors offered forged American driver's licences for about US$35 and websites targeting expatriates offered second passports.

Ms Saleemah said that with a fake identity, one could live for a long time in a big country like Thailand. She said: "There is no central database like in Singapore to check a person's particulars." As Thailand is a highly wired country, it is an attractive destination for fugitives who want to stay in touch with their families. Another lure is that Thailand is a transportation hub with many international airlines flying there.

And it certainly doesn't hurt that Thailand is a beautiful country where things are affordable and the people friendly, said Mr Kalastree.

But fugitives hoping to start life anew in Thailand should realise they can be caught there too.

A Singapore Police Force spokesman said they work closely with other law enforcement agencies, including the Royal Thai Police, through various channels, such as Interpol, to trace suspected criminals.

This cooperation with the Thai police can be seen through the arrest of Jerry Ee after they had alerted regional police forces, he added.

- The Electric New Paper (Singapore) / 2009-04-01

[Splatter]

Watch out watch out.

When the long arm of the law is on 12

It's time for Ee to go to jail.

[LeungKen]

Watch out watch out.

When the long arm of the law is on 12

It's time for Ee to go to jail.

'

Why didn't he get sponsorship from Wrigley's and then sell his story in Yorkshire. I can see the headlines in the "Yorkshire Post" now.

"Ee by Gum".

[somluck]

But fugitives hoping to start life anew in Thailand should realise they can be caught there too.

A Singapore Police Force spokesman said they work closely with other law enforcement agencies, including the Royal Thai Police, through various channels, such as Interpol, to trace suspected criminals.

This cooperation with the Thai police can be seen through the arrest of Jerry Ee after they had alerted regional police forces, he added.

- The Electric New Paper (Singapore) / 2009-04-01

The guy gave himself up by surrendering did he not? All the police did was admin work to extradite him....how to claim credit for his 'ARREST'?

[thailandlover]

It seems to me, given the short sentence meted out to the man who threw his wife out the window, that jail in Singapore would be preferable to jail in Thailand for most people.

[sriracha john]

$5.6 million * 131.1 million Thai Baht * default judgement

Cortina Watch has obtained a default judgment of $5.6 million against its former supervisor Jerry Ee, who is now facing 24 charges of criminal breach of trust.

The high-end watch retailer, through its lawyer Chia Foon Yeow of Loo and Partners, was awarded the judgment on Tuesday against the 35-year-old.

Cortina had sued Ee for at least $13.3 million in February, when he went on the run after pulling off a Christmas Day heist at the Raffles City Shopping Centre outlet where he worked.

The company has since recovered about $4.6 million * 107.7 million Thai Baht * from the 230 watches he turned in when he gave himself up in Bangkok last month.

While he was hiding in Thailand, the writ for the suit was advertised in The Straits Times on Feb 13. That same day, the writ was also posted on the front door of his flat in Bukit Merah, which he shared with his parents and a son from a previous marriage.

Since he failed to enter an appearance within eight days of that, Cortina became entitled to apply for a default judgment.

On his part, he can now apply to the court for leave to set aside the default judgment if he has good grounds.

But he is now facing charges tied to his alleged pocketing of 412 watches and cash, totalling $9.2 million * 215.4 million Thai Baht *.

Seven watches belonged to customers, believed to be foreigners.

As Ee could not rustle up the $1.5 million bail, he will stay in remand until the pre-trial conference at the end of this month.

With the default judgement, Cortina may choose to take action to claim the money from Ee, including perhaps making him bankrupt.

- Straits Times / 2009-04-03