A gang of armed robbers dressed in suits and ties escaped with $9 million worth of watches and jewels from a store in Pacific Place, Admiralty, yesterday.
The four men strolled through crowds of lunchtime shoppers before holding up the second-floor Masterpiece jewellery shop at 2.20pm. All were armed with pistols.
They ordered 13 customers inside the shop to lie on the floor, warning they would open fire if anyone moved. They then made shop staff open eight showcases of jewellery and watches, emptying them into black bags.
The robbers escaped through a fire exit near the shop that leads into Justice Drive.
No shots were fired and no one was injured during the three-minute hold-up.
Officers of the Regional Crime Unit of Hong Kong Island were studying security videotapes from the shopping centre last night.