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A 19-year-old mainland man was caught allegedly trying to break into the Deep Water Bay home of tycoon Li Ka-shing. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Asia’s richest man Li Ka-shing targeted in spate of burglaries to hit Hong Kong

Six burglaries or attempted break-ins were reported including one at Li Ka-shing's home, but the biggest haul came from a public housing flat

Burglars were busy over the five-day Easter and Ching Ming holiday period - targeting shops, a public housing flat and even the luxury home of Asia's richest man, Li Ka-shing.

On the first day of the holiday, a 19-year-old mainland man was caught allegedly trying to break into the Deep Water Bay home of tycoon Li. The suspect was charged with attempted burglary and illegally entering and staying in the city.

But a HK$1.2 million haul from a public housing flat in Tseung Kwan O on Tuesday is thought to be the biggest "take" over the period.

The break-in was discovered when a 28-year-old woman and her family returned to their 28th-floor flat at Sheung Tak Estate after a sightseeing trip to the mainland.

She called police shortly after 7pm when she found one of the bedrooms had been ransacked, according to police.

"A safe that was 30cm by 40cm by 40cm was stolen from the bedroom. Initial investigations showed that it contained HK$290,000, 300,000 yuan [HK$380,000] and HK$530,000 in jewellery," a police spokesman said.

Crime-squad officers from the Kwun Tong police district are investigating how the burglars broke into the flat. So far, no one has been arrested.

Separately, two houses in Kwun Fung Street, Tuen Mun, were burgled and cash and valuables worth HK$82,000 were stolen on Tuesday - the final day of the holiday period.

Also on the same day, burglars broke through a wall to enter a money exchange shop in Shanghai Street, Mong Kok, and escaped with a total of HK$60,000 in cash.

On Monday, there was an attempted break-in at the three-storey home of Indian consul general Prashant Agrawal in Black's Link, Happy Valley. Agrawal, 41, called police after his wife said she heard an intruder - who fled empty-handed - just before 5am. The family told police that nothing was stolen. No one was arrested.

That was the latest in a string of burglaries to hit the area in recent months. On January 19, two houses in Black's Link Villa - 100 metres from Agrawal's house - were burgled.

One was burgled a second time by two men on February 13. Police recovered a safe and later arrested a 32-year-old mainlander on Deep Water Bay Road.

Burglars have also targeted luxury homes in the exclusive Peak and Southern district neighbourhoods in recent months.

Last month, Goldman Sachs banker Ronald Lee's luxury home in Stanley was broken into and valuables worth HK$250,000 were reported stolen.

In December, three luxury houses on Mount Kellett Road on The Peak were targeted by burglars.

In October, some antiques, watches and jewellery valued at HK$10 million were stolen from a safe in a bathroom in flamboyant tycoon Cecil Chao Sze-tsung's 20,000 sq ft mansion on Victoria Road.

However, police figures put a different spin on the story. They show that overall burglary cases reported in the city dropped by 24 per cent - from 3,573 in 2013 to 2,700 last year.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Burglars exploit holiday break
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