JAKARTA - Former British top minister and surgeon Lord Ara Warkes Darzi was robbed and lost his luxurious watches while on vacation on Capri Island, Italy.
The theft took place near the island's main piazza on Sunday night, when Lord Darzi and his friends were walking along Via Vittrio Emanuele, an elite area full of design stores when they were about to return to the cruise ship.
Two men attacked Lord Darzi and stole his Richard Mille RM 07 watch which was worth more than 175.000 (Rp.3.817.730,000) from his wrist, before escaping in a waiting motorboat, police said, as reported by The National July 16.
Luckily, Lord Darzi was not injured in the attack.
The police are studying the CCTV of the incident and have released a picture of two men dressed in casual clothes.
Lord Darzi (65) served as surgeon Paul Hamlyn at Imperial College London, Royal Marsden Hospital, and the Institute for Cancer Research.
He was awarded the title of royalty for his services in medicine and surgery in 2002, before being appointed royal in 2007 when he joined Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Government as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health.
Speaking to MailOnline, Lord Darzi said his family was "deeply shaken" by the incident that occurred while they were on vacation after "a very busy year at the NHS (National Health Service)".
"The watch was a gift from the father of a patient whose life I saved six years ago," he said.
"Unfortunately, like many Britons abroad, I have now experienced street crimes directly. My advice to fellow simple tourists: be careful and leave your valuables at home," he continued.
Meanwhile, Capri Mayor Paolo Falco expressed his sympathy to Lord Darzi "on behalf of the entire government and citizens" and "our full availability to cooperate in the investigation".
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Mayor Falco stressed that such incidents rarely occur on islands known as popular destinations for rich tourists.
"What happened is certainly an anomaly for an island that, and remains, is very safe and friendly," he said in a statement.
"Indeed, we are concerned that this is a deliberate and planned act. After all, we will strengthen security measures, even in the most central and most frequent areas visited by tourists," he said.
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