Jerry Ee had turned himself in at the Singapore Embassy in Bangkok last Tuesday and repatriated two days later. -- PHOTO: BT
FORMER Cortina employee Jerry Ee who went missing on Christmas Day last year with 386 luxury watches was charged in court on Saturday for criminal breach of trust.
Ee, 35, appeared in the Subordinate Court on Saturday after being on the run for three months with watches valued over $8.5 million.
He had turned himself in at the Singapore Embassy in Bangkok last Tuesday and repatriated two days later.
In an announcement on the Singapore Exchange on Friday, Cortina said that they had recovered 230 of the stolen timepieces.
The company's estimated maximum loss from the theft is now revised to about $3.3 million.
Ee, a senior supervisor at Cortina's Raffles City store, is alleged to have stolen 386 watches of six premium brands - Audemars Piguet, Girard-Perregaux, Panerai, Patek Philippe, Rolex and Vacheron Constantin - and 194 guarantee cards.
Also missing from the store was $27,137 in cash.
He is said to have fled to Malaysia by road on Dec 25, before flying to Thailand.
Cortina has filed a civil suit against him. It is seeking $13.3 million in compensation, mainly for the watches.
Still sporting the black sweater and jeans that he wore in Bangkok, Ee appeared calm as the charge was read out to him.
