Australian extradited over $1m ring theft

BANGKOK - An Australian man on Monday will not fight Australia's bid to extradite him from Thailand to Victoria over the theft of a $A1 million ($NZ1.25 million) ring, his lawyer says.

George Georgio, 30, from Northcote in Victoria, is due to appear in a Bangkok criminal court on Monday after he was arrested at Thailand's seaside resort of Pattaya in October 2009 on the request of the Australian Attorney-General's Department.

The department said Australian authorities wanted to prosecute Georgio on theft and damage-related offences over the alleged theft of a $A1 million ring in March 2009.

Australian police say that in late March 2009, a man dressed all in black, including a beanie, smashed the display window at the Hardy Brothers Jewellers in Collins Street, Melbourne.

The thief escaped with a million-dollar diamond ring described as a stunning handcrafted nine carat round cut solitaire "made by God".

Georgio says he is innocent and wants to return to Melbourne to fight the charges, his lawyer told AAP.

"He wants to defend himself in Melbourne," the lawyer said.

In an earlier interview with AAP, Georgiou said he had already been questioned by Australian police over the theft.

"I am just a suspect. They are taking me back. I've done nothing," he said.

He previously served a 10-month prison sentence in Australia for burglary in 2004.

Georgio has lived in Thailand since March 2009.

Following Monday's hearing, the Thai judge is expected to hand down his verdict in about two weeks.

- AAP