More police officers may be placed on patrol after two security guards were shot in separate armed robberies in one week, Police Commissioner Tsang Yam-pui said yesterday.
Mr Tsang was speaking after visiting security guard Ng Kar-man, 26, who was shot twice by robbers as they tried to steal a cash box containing $1 million at an off-course betting centre in Tsuen Wan on Monday night.
Four suspected mainland robbers, two carrying revolvers, were arrested about 40 minutes later when police mounted an ambush at Prince Edward MTR station as the gang tried to escape.
The robbery came less than a week after security guard Zafar Iqbal Khan, 31, was shot dead in a bank robbery in Tsuen Wan last Wednesday. His killer is still at large.
'We are concerned about the number of cases involving the use of firearms recently. We will . . . liaise very closely with Guangdong public security authorities to see if we can strengthen our intelligence exchange system,' Mr Tsang said.
'Also, we will . . . see if we can deploy even more uniformed and plain-clothes officers to the front line to prevent this type of crime.'
Police yesterday arrested two SAR men and a mainland woman visitor in connection with Monday's robbery. They arrested another two SAR men and a mainland woman on Monday night in Shamshuipo and also seized two stun guns in a raid on the BP International House hotel in Austin Road, Tsim Sha Tsui.