Lam Tin jeweller hit for third time in smash-and-grab

A Lam Tin jewellery store was robbed for the third time in less than three years yesterday in the latest of a series of smash-and-grab raids in Hong Kong.

Sang Fuk jewellery shop lost about 20 gold items when two men smashed the display window with a sledgehammer at about 6.15am. A police source said the owners had failed to heed advice to keep the valuables in a vault after the last two raids.

The intruders, about 1.65 metres and 1.7 metres tall, were disturbed by a security guard who went to the shop on the first floor of the Kai Tin Shopping Centre on hearing a loud noise. But they were able to escape with their loot, which has yet to be valued.

"[The guard] saw the two men stuffing something into their bags from the shop. As he shouted at them, they fled on foot," a police spokeswoman said. One carried a sledgehammer.

They left a 50cm by 50cm hole in the window. Police searched the area but no one was arrested.

Officers yesterday searched surveillance footage in an effort to identify the pair.

The two previous raids also occurred at about 6am as the shopping centre opened its doors. Kwun Tong detectives are investigating whether the three cases are linked.