Man, 81, sends gang packing in tunnel assault
An 81-year-old man single-handedly fought off a gang of young muggers who tried to rob him in a pedestrian tunnel in Tseung Kwan O early yesterday morning.
Police arrested eight teenagers aged between 15 and 19, several of whom sustained cuts and other minor injuries during the fight with the elderly man.
The 5am incident triggered fresh calls for a police crackdown on youth gangs in Tseung Kwan O, which has in recent years seen a rise in youth crime.
The elderly man, whom police only identified by his family name, Mak, was walking in a pedestrian tunnel near Fu Ning Garden on his way to do morning exercise when the teens pounced on him from behind.
They pushed him to the ground and tried to snatch his belongings, police said. But despite the young attackers' efforts to subdue him, Mak fought back fiercely, injuring several of the teens who fled empty-handed.
Police arrived quickly and followed a trail of blood to a flat on the nearby Ming Tak Estate, some 200 metres from the crime scene.
Inside the flat, officers netted the gang of eight - five youths and three girls.
Three of the gang members - a 16-year-old girl, a 15-year-old boy and another 19-year-old youth - were taken to Tseung Kwan O Hospital with minor injuries.
Mak also suffered a slight head injury.
Sai Kung district councillor Chan Kai-wai urged police to step up patrols in what was becoming a crime black spot.
'Women and old people are easy prey,' Chan said. 'Pedestrian subways are the most dangerous places. People should avoid them at night.'
Chan complained there were too few police patrols in Tseung Kwan O, whose population has swelled to more than 440,000. A lack of community facilities for young people only exacerbated the problem, he added.
'Along with a rising triad problem in recent years, juvenile crime in Tseung Kwan O is getting worse,' Chan said.
'Not all teens are triad members, and many are not organised. They just gather together to rob or stir up trouble for fun. Now a 16-year-old can become a so-called big brother [gang leader].'
In 2009, 305 under-18-year-olds were arrested for various offences in the district.
The number of arrests jumped to 352 last year. More than 40 per cent were involved in shoplifting or other theft, while 86 were involved in 'wounding and serious assaults', according to police.
In late March, police arrested 15 young people involving in an early-hours gang fight in a mall in Nan Fung Plaza.
Chan said the district council had set up a special team to deal with the district's youth problem. It comprised representatives from the police, youth welfare groups and Social Welfare Department.
Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong told legislators in March that police had set up a special team to boost patrols of locations frequented by young people in the district, as well as working more closely with schools. The number of police in the district had more than doubled in the past 10 years to 255 officers.
