Charles Li Xiaojia speaking in Central in September. Photo: Dickson Lee
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https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2025318/hkex-chief-executive-charles-lis-luxury-home-burgled-latest Law and Crime
HKEX chief executive Charles Li’s luxury home burgled in latest high-profile break-in; jewellery worth HK$850,000 stolen
Thieves gained access to a safe in the master bedroom while the owner was out of town, police say
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing chief executive Charles Li’s house at Turtle Cove estate was burgled on Tuesday night. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) chief executive Charles Li Xiaojia became the latest victim in a string of high-profile break-ins after his luxury home in Tai Tam was burgled on Tuesday night.
About 20 watches were stolen along with jewellery worth HK$850,000 from a safe the burglar pried open in his master bedroom. Li was out of town at the time.
So far no one has been arrested. Officers from the Western district crime squad are investigating.
Police are searching for two men in connection with the burglary, which took place at 8.30pm at the house on Tai Tam Road. The luxury property was purchased in 2011 for HK$135 million, public records show.
It is understood two domestic helpers were inside the property at the time of the raid.
Police were alerted when one of the domestic helpers, 45, heard a noise, went to check and found two men on the first floor of the house. The burglars fled as she ran downstairs to contact police.
“Initial investigations showed the two men entered the house by prying open a glass sliding door on the ground floor of the house,” a source said on Wednesday.
Police said two screwdrivers were found at the scene.
Officers combed the area, but no arrests were made. The two robbers were described as being about 1.8 metres tall.
HKEX declined to comment on the burglary.
“Mr Charles Li is travelling, but will return to the office tomorrow. We won’t comment on his behalf or confirm anything,” a spokesman said.
Hong Kong’s expensive residential areas, including The Peak, Shouson Hill, Deep Water Bay, Repulse Bay and Kowloon Tong have been targeted by burglars in recent months.
On Monday, HK$3 million in cash and valuables was stolen from a house at Sha Tin Heights in Sha Tin.
On September 5, the Deep Water Bay home of billionaire American businessman and recipient of the Gold Bauhinia Star Jim Thompson was burgled. Twenty-eight items including his medal were stolen. A mainland man, 26, was arrested, and the property recovered.
On August 27, the Repulse Bay home of Angela Leong On-kei, the fourth wife of casino mogul Stanley Ho Hung-sun, was burgled while she was out of town.
On August 8, several gold statues were stolen from the Repulse Bay Road home of the late Cheng Yu-tung, who was Hong Kong’s third-richest man.
But despite the spate of crimes, police figures show burglary reports declined 4.6 per cent to 1,407 in the first seven months of the year, compared to 1,475 in the same period in 2015.
Additional reporting by Enoch Yiu