Spider-Man raider's HK$3.6m haul from two flats in Repulse Bay
Daring thief climbs scaffolding to take watches and jewellery from luxury flats in Repulse Bay
A "Spider-Man" burglar who shinned up scaffolding is thought to be responsible for raids on two apartments at a Repulse Bay estate that netted jewellery and watches worth HK$3.6 million.
The break-ins have prompted police to step up patrols by uniformed and plainclothes officers around Repulse Bay Garden in Belleview Drive.
The patrols will include camouflaged officers hiding on a nearby hillside and helicopters with thermal-imaging equipment may also be deployed.
Police believe the raider climbed onto the scaffolding from the hillside before breaking into the flats by prising open windows and fleeing through the adjacent Tai Tam Country Park.
The two burglaries, on upper floors of two different blocks, are both thought to have been committed on the night of June 14, although one was not reported until June 19 when the absent occupants returned home. The other was reported the next day.
An investigating officer said the burglar, about 1.7 metres tall, managed to avoid surveillance cameras and alarm sensors on the scaffolding but was captured on security cameras in one of the flats. "A screwdriver is the only tool he would have needed to break in," another officer said.
The two apartments are understood to be owned by local businessmen. The burglar took jewellery and watches valued at HK$1 million from one flat.
From the other, he took seven items of jewellery and two watches, together valued at HK$2.5 million, and HK$90,000 in cash.
The scaffolding was erected last year for renovation work and it is understood there has since been at least one other burglary.
Police have asked the estate management and the renovation contractor to step up security.
"Police will continue to maintain a high-profile police presence and conduct covert operations against burglary in the area," a spokesman said.
