$1.6m worth of jewellery stolen in brush with 'painters'
A gang of robbers posing as painters assaulted a saleswoman and stole her briefcase containing jewellery worth $1.6 million outside her office in Yau Ma Tei yesterday afternoon.
Police said four or five men pretended to be painting on the eighth floor of Yu Hing Mansion in Woosung Street when the victim, 43, walked out of her office at about 1.30pm.
The robbers attacked her while she waited for the lift, according to police.
'The victim was grabbed by her neck from behind and punched in the incident,' a police spokesman said.
'The robbers stole a briefcase and tied up the victim with wire before running downstairs. No weapon was produced in the robbery.'
The briefcase is understood to have contained more than 100 pieces of diamond jewellery.
The woman managed to untie herself and returned to her office. An office colleague then called police. The victim was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment.
Officers made a huge search in the area but no one was arrested. Detectives are investigating whether the gang fled in a getaway car. The robbers are described as about 30 years old and 1.7 metres tall. One was wearing a grey T-shirt.
Detectives have checked security footage to aid identification of the robbers.
Officers found a can of paint, a ladder and two wooden plates at the scene and took them to Tsim Sha Tsui police station for analysis.
The assistant Yau Tsim district commander for crime, Superintendent Yeung Chi-choi, described the robbery as well planned.
He said that at this stage, no evidence suggested it was an inside job.
'Salespeople carrying jewellery or gold ornaments should remain vigilant, and their time schedule and routing should not be fixed, in order to prevent similar attacks,' Mr Yeung said.
He said their employers should also step up security measures such as installing closed-circuit televisions to monitor the areas outside their offices.
