$50,000 Daytona lost, found, then stolen by cop!

[Rescue 26]

Sorry if this has already been published but I only just saw it. No doubt some of the Hong Kong forum members are familiar with it.

In 2017 a young guy in Hong Kong left his US$54,000 Daytona in his gym bag at the side of the field while he played soccer. When he returned the watch was gone. He reported the theft to police, who searched the area etc, etc. The next day one of the owner's "friends" handed the watch in to the local police station, saying he had taken it "by mistake". The rest of the story is copied from one of the local papers. The cop's trial was only a couple of months ago:

A Hong Kong police officer was on Wednesday found guilty of stealing a HK$425,000 (US$54,200) Rolex watch that was turned in as lost property.
Constable Chow Hop-chun, 28, claimed he put the blue-dialled Rolex Cally-Daytona in his belt bag on June 26, 2017, to await instructions on how to package it for the exhibit office. He said he forgot the watch was in his bag when he got distracted by his police duties that day.
Chow said he searched Cheung Sha Wan Police Station as soon as he realised the watch was missing and put his own counterfeit black-dialled Rolex in the exhibit office to “buy time”. He said he bought his watch in Shenzen for a few hundred dollars.
The District Court heard that Chow returned the real Rolex to the exhibit office, and retrieved his own watch and threw it away, after a call from the owner who had been told his expensive watch was at the police station.
But District Judge Katherine Lo Kit-yee found Chow’s story unbelievable. She observed that he had no reason to put the watch in his bag in the first place and that his behaviour aroused suspicion that he wanted it for himself.

[mynameistaken]

And two years later it was found???


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[Rescue 26]

Originally Posted by mynameistaken

And two years later it was found???


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No, it was handed in the next day. It just took 2 years to bring the cop to trial. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison in November 2019.

[schoolboy]

Originally Posted by Rescue 26

No, it was handed in the next day. It just took 2 years to bring the cop to trial. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison in November 2019.

Any details on what specific Daytona it was?

Interesting story by the way!

[Rescue 26]

Originally Posted by schoolboy

Any details on what specific Daytona it was?

Interesting story by the way!

Description below is copied from newspaper at the time:

The particular model (Ref. 116506), a platinum version of the Daytona watch with an “ice blue” dial matched with a brown ceramic bezel and chronograph subdials, was rolled out to commemorate the iconic model’s 50th anniversary.

Incidentally, the owner was 21 years old and says it is his second Rolex!

[Steerpike999]

Originally Posted by Rescue 26

Incidentally, the owner was 21 years old and says it is his second Rolex!

21 Years old you say?
I was in my local AD in Melbourne 2 weekends ago and there was two guys / two women and 3 kids at the Patek counter being served.
I was with my son and he gave me a strange look and motioned with his head at one of the kids, he was probably no older than 4 years old, looking bored wearing a ceramic Daytona on a white rubber strap. I'd like to think it was a replica....

[schoolboy]

Originally Posted by Rescue 26

Description below is copied from newspaper at the time:



The particular model (Ref. 116506), a platinum version of the Daytona watch with an “ice blue” dial matched with a brown ceramic bezel and chronograph subdials, was rolled out to commemorate the iconic model’s 50th anniversary.



Incidentally, the owner was 21 years old and says it is his second Rolex!

Oh okay, I forgot about that one

[aleeboy]

Originally Posted by Rescue 26

No, it was handed in the next day. It just took 2 years to bring the cop to trial. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison in November 2019.

Was it a suspended sentence?

10 months is harsh considering stock manipulation, insider trading and other white collar crimes go unpunished every day in Hong Kong.

[BigBoy17]

Originally Posted by Rescue 26

No, it was handed in the next day. It just took 2 years to bring the cop to trial. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison in November 2019.

Thats good news

[Chewbacca]

Jeebus.