SINGAPORE - A young girl allegedly swiped a diamond ornament worth several hundred thousand dollars from a shop at Marina Bay Sands on Christmas night last year.

Evening daily Shin Min Daily News reported on Sunday that a man and a woman, with a girl who looked around age 10 in tow, had entered the Bulgari store in Marina Bay Sands. They behaved like a family.

But while they were there, the girl allegedly swiped a diamond ornament worth several hundred thousand dollars from a display case.

She was caught on CCTV kneeling in front of the case and appeared to reach for something, while the man and woman were talking to shop staff.

The Police confirmed that a theft had occurred in the building along Bayfront Avenue and they had been called in at 11.08 pm on Christmas night. Investigations are ongoing.

Shopowners in Marina Bay Sands were issued letters from the Police alerting them to a theft of high-value jewellery.

Just last Friday in Hong Kong, a girl believed to be aged between 12 and 14 unlocked a case in Emperor Jewellery shop in the 1881 Heritage shopping mall in Tsim Sha Tsui.

She reportedly stole a 100-carat gold necklace embedded with diamonds, worth HK$36 million (S$6.2 million), while two women and a man distracted shop staff.

The modus operandi also bore similarities to an incident in Kuala Lumpur on Jan 16 last year. Three women and a girl, who appeared around 10 years old, made off with a RM5.2 million (S$1.9 million) yellow diamond ring.