S'porean woman leaves jewellery worth S$30,000 in JW Marriott Hotel Bangkok, checks out, returns 30 mins later, but items gone

A Singaporean woman on holiday with her husband in Bangkok, Thailand ended up losing a Tiffany wedding ring, two diamond rings and a bracelet worth S$30,000, following a stay at the JW Marriott Hotel Bangkok.

She apparently left the jewellery behind in the room's bathroom on the last day of her stay and checked out — only to realise about 30 minutes later that the items were not on her.

When the couple sought help from the hotel staff, they claimed that they found the employees' behaviour suspicious and unhelpful.

According to Shin Min Daily News, who interviewed the 41-year-old husband, Zheng (transliteration), the couple was told no jewellery was left behind in the room.

The couple had stayed at the hotel from Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, 2024.

Zheng specifically called out a hotel bellboy, who was suspected to have been involved in the incident.

Checked out at 2:30pm

Shin Min reported that the couple checked out at 2:30pm on the last day of their stay and waited in the hotel lobby for their luggage to be brought down.

"We waited for about 15 minutes, but seeing that our luggage was not taken down yet and our flight was at 7pm, we went shopping in the mall first," Zheng said.

He said his wife had forgotten to put on her jewellery, which were left behind in the bathroom, as she was in a hurry.

Told no jewellery found

Zheng also said he found the hotel manager's response strange when the couple sought the staff's help.

The husband claimed he was asked if the diamond ring was white, but he said he did not disclose details of what was left behind.

When he had pointed out the lack of identifying details of the jewellery to the hotel staff, they allegedly said most diamond rings are white.

Zheng said this made him feel that they were deliberately diverting the issue.

Bellboy's behaviour suspicious

The couple grew more suspicious of the hotel staff's behaviour and responses when they checked the security camera footage.

Zheng said he saw the bellboy look at the camera after exiting the room the couple stayed at.

The bellboy also apparently changed his statement to the police.

Zheng claimed that the bellboy told his wife he had found the room's bathroom cleaned when he entered and there was no jewellery left behind.

But in the police statement, the bellboy apparently claimed he never spoke to Zheng's wife.

Surveillance footage, however, apparently showed the bellboy entering the room with Zheng's wife, the duty manager, and a member of the security team, the husband added.

Zheng was also suspicious as the bellboy was just meant to pick up their luggage and wouldn't need to enter the bathroom, and it was unlikely that the bathroom would have been cleaned so quickly.

Footage also showed Zheng's wife wearing the jewellery during their stay except on the last day during checkout on Nov. 2, according to Stomp.

Zheng said the items held sentimental value as the couple only got married in September this year, Shin Min reported.

Hotel's response

A spokesperson for Marriott International, which oversees JW Marriott Hotel Bangkok, said the group was aware of the incident and had contacted the affected guests directly.

It said: "We take this matter very seriously and have conducted a thorough internal review to understand and resolve the issue."

But the spokesperson said that due to confidentiality reasons, no further information could be provided.

Top photos via Shin Min Daily News