Nepali man arrested for role in US$786,000 robbery of Hong Kong jewellery store
Suspect charged over incident that resulted in two store employees being slashed with meat knives
A man from Nepal has been arrested in connection with a high-profile robbery in Hung Hom on Friday when four men escaped with US$786,000 in cash after ambushing two jewellery store workers and allegedly slashing them with meat knives.
The 24-year-old man, a recognisance form holder, was arrested on Battery Street in Yau Ma Tei at 9.30pm that day, but officers found no property relating to the incident on him and only a small amount of suspected cannabis buds.
The man was charged with one count of robbery and possession of dangerous drugs and will appear in Kowloon City court on Monday.
The search for the other suspected robbers continues. Police said they believed the three men at large are also of South Asian descent.
The incident on Friday took place on Hok Yuen Street East, near the junction with Hung Hom Road in Hung Hom, just before 10.30am.
The robbers were said to have slashed the store workers’ legs before snatching their two rucksacks containing US$740,000 and HK$363,060 (US$46,000) – a total value of about US$786,000 in cash – along with six crossed cheques.
The trio then fled along Hok Yuen Street East before jumping into a white Honda Jazz getaway car driven by a fourth suspect.
Heavily armed police set up roadblocks in West Kowloon on Friday. The vehicle was found abandoned at about 1pm that day outside Olympian City on Hoi Ting Road in Mong Kok.
Video shows robbers on the run after US$786,000 armed raid
Two bloodstained knives were found, along with hats and face masks on board the vehicle. Police said the car was stolen in Tuen Mun last month.
One of the employees, aged 38, suffered three knife wounds on his legs, while his 26-year-old colleague had a gash on his left leg. The older man was in serious condition in Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei on Friday; his colleague was discharged after being treated at the hospital.
