Just like in a movie! Gold jewelry worth RMB 1.48 million (about 858,400 Malaysian Ringgit) disappeared from a gold jewelry store in Sichuan, China, with no signs of forced entry inside the store. After an investigation, police discovered that the thief had previously worked on the mall’s fire protection pipe maintenance. He sneaked into the ventilation duct in advance, hid for nearly 9 hours, and then broke into the jewelry shop to steal.
Police found that the thief, Jiang, had participated in the mall’s fire pipe maintenance work and was familiar with the internal structure. He noticed that after closing at night, the target gold shop did not secure all their gold jewelry in a safe; small pieces were simply covered with a cloth, exposing a security loophole.
The night before the crime, the thief carried fire protection blueprints, climbed into the ventilation duct through a decorated store’s ceiling, and hid there for almost 9 hours, waiting for security to let their guard down. He even changed clothes and took off his shoes inside the duct. At around 3 am the next day, he cut the jewelry shop’s power, broke in, and stole 885.421 grams of gold, six jade bracelets, and a pair of shoes from the shop next door, with a total value of RMB 1.48 million. To evade surveillance, he changed his clothes three times, but the entire process was still captured by the mall’s mirrored surfaces and security cameras.
After staff discovered the theft and called the police the next morning, police quickly tracked Jiang’s whereabouts through the “Sky Net” and mall security footage. He was arrested at 6:50 pm that day while trying to sell off the stolen goods. In his car, police found unsold gold, jade bracelets, and RMB 80,000 (about 46,400 Malaysian Ringgit) in stolen cash.
Because the value involved in this case far exceeds the threshold for “especially large” theft (more than RMB 300,000), the legal minimum sentence is 10 to 12 years in prison. Taking into account Jiang's confession, admission of guilt, and full compensation for the victim’s losses (recovered stolen goods and returned cash), the court imposed a lighter sentence: 10 years and 6 months in prison, plus a fine of RMB 60,000 (around 34,800 Malaysian Ringgit).