Two weeks ago, my friends and I went for a two days-one night tour package to Suzhou and Shanghai in China which we booked from a local tour agency.

While in Shanghai, the tourist guide took us to a jewelry shop where they sold precious gems.

When we arrived, we were taken to a room and shortly after, the boss came in.

He introduced himself and told us a very interesting story. He told us that after having three daughters, his wife finally gave birth to a son the day before.

Since he was so happy, on this auspicious day, he was offering us a 95% discount on all the jewelry in the store. This was followed by a brief demonstration on how to differentiate real gems from the fake ones.

Even the salesgirls at the shop ‘seemed’ shocked and appalled that their boss was offering us such a discount. So most of us bought the gems without a second thought, as we considered it a bargain. We trusted this man’s honesty and integrity.

But sad to say, when we came back to Malaysia, we went to check with a gemologist and were told that the jewelry we bought was not genuine – not even among the lower grades of gem.

Well, the boss and the salesgirls were extremely good actors and actresses. Good acting.

We do not know how many visitors to date, like us, have been conned. Taken there by a local tour guide who is most probably in collaboration with the shop-owner.

How many have been swindled of thousands of ringgit? What happened to honesty and integrity in China?

This ‘boss’ also gave us a name card with an address in Thailand but not in Shanghai. The e-mail address bounced when I tried to send him an e-mail.

So to your readers, I hope that if they happen to go to China for their holidays, do be beware of these imposters. Many people have told me stories of how they were cheated in other ways when purchasing goods in China.

Why has China not taken action to prevent such things from happening? China, where is your honesty and integrity?