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Inquest jurors see video of guard's death in bank robbery

Martin Wong

Inquest jurors were yesterday shown closed-circuit video footage of an armed robbery in Tsuen Wan in December 2001 in which security guard Zafar Iqbal Khan was shot dead.

The development came after nearly two weeks of evidence about the shooting death of constable Leung Shing-yan in March 2001.

The footage shows a person wearing a black balaclava and red pullover, and holding a gun in the left hand, dash into the Hang Seng Bank branch in Belvedere Garden, Tsuen Wan, at 12.10.33. At least 10 customers are shown running out of the bank immediately afterwards.

The footage, taken from four cameras, shows a security guard in the bank holding up his rifle at 12.10.37. A few seconds later, he is seen lying on the floor.

The footage shows the robber climbing into the tellers' counter area at 12.10.50, then going through the drawers and taking out banknotes. The robber climbs out at 12.11.44 and, less than 5 seconds later, dashes out of the bank.

The Coroner's Court is expected to hear evidence about the events today.

The coroner and the five-man jury yesterday visited the scene of the crime. The bank branch closed three months ago but the premises are still vacant.

The area around the bank was cordoned off from early morning until noon for the visit, which lasted about 20 minutes.

More than 50 police guarded the scene. Journalists were better behaved than during the jury's visit last week to the scene of Leung's death, when they had to be told to stop photographing jurors. Yesterday, no photographs were taken of jurors.

The jury's visit revived residents' memories of the aftermath of the robbery, which one said was like a war zone.

'The street was so packed on that day that the pavements on both sides of the road outside the bank were full of people,' one woman said.

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