Girl, 14, abducted and assaulted in Tai Po

Police have stepped up patrols in Tai Po after a 14-year-old schoolgirl was abducted for more than an hour, robbed and indecently assaulted on Thursday.

Last night, police officers were still hunting for the Cantonese-speaking man who robbed and molested her on a remote hillside. "The attack stopped when she started crying," an officer said yesterday. "He then punched and kicked her and fled."

The girl is being treated for head and arm injuries at the Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital in Tai Po.

The officer said police were particularly concerned about the case because of "the level of indecent assault and violence and the involvement of a young victim".

The Form Three pupil's ordeal began after she visited her grandfather in Chui Yi Street on Thursday evening. She left his home at about 7.15pm, in her school uniform, to do some shopping in Chui Lok Street.

As she reached Buddhist Tai Kwong Chi Hong College, a man approached her from behind, demanding money and saying he had a knife.

"She was very scared and did not shout. She just followed the guy," an officer said.

The man led her along Chui Yi Street and through a subway before taking her to a park outside Tai Po Public Swimming Pool in Ting Tai Road, about 300 metres from where she was abducted.

Once in the park, he took HK$160 in cash from the girl and her mobile phone, worth about HK$3,000. He then took her to a hillside on Ting Lai Road, where he indecently assaulted her. When she cried, he punched and kicked her then ran down the hill.

"The victim was held by her attacker for more than an hour," the officer said. The girl suffered injuries to her head, forearms and right elbow.

Police said the attacker was of medium build, aged about 40, and 1.65 metres tall. Anyone with information should contact police on 6148 2032 or 3661 3600.