Man in Hong Kong returns home to find flat ransacked and HK$117,000 in cash and valuables stolen
- Police investigating whether burglar climbed into flat through broken window
- Latest case follows at least two reports of break-ins over the weekend
Cash and valuables worth about HK$117,000 (US$15,000) in total were stolen from a flat in Yau Ma Tei in Hong Kong’s latest burglary case, police said on Monday.
It followed at least two reports of break-ins and the arrest of a suspected mainland Chinese burglar over the weekend. In one of two cases on Saturday, the Lantau Island home of a part-time policeman, 39, was burgled and his warrant card stolen along with HK$30,000 in cash and valuables.
The latest case came to light at 12.09am on Monday when a 43-year-old man returned home and found his flat in the Yun Kai Building on Nathan Road, Yau Ma Tei had been ransacked. Police said a window was broken.
“Initial investigation showed a HK$4,000 handbag and 100,000 yuan [HK$113,640] were stolen,” police said. Officers scouted the area but no arrest was made.
Police were investigating whether the burglar climbed into the flat through the broken window.
On Saturday, a 40-year-old man called police at 12.09am when he found his house had been ransacked in the Hung Shui Kiu section of Castle Peak Road, Yuen Long.
Police said HK$100,000 in jewellery was stolen along with HK$5,400 in cash from the house.
About 10 hours later, officers were called to the home of an auxiliary policeman in Mui Wo on South Lantau Road at about 10am when he found his village house had been burgled.
According to police, HK$5,500, a HK$1,500 watch and HK$23,000 worth of jewellery were stolen along with his warrant card.
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At about 7.30pm on the same day, police arrested a mainland man, 37, in connection with a break-in at an upscale house in the Belair Villa housing estate in Yu Tai Road, Sheung Shui. His alleged accomplice managed to escape.
Police said the man put up a struggle and injured three officers before being overpowered at the scene. A pair of earrings and a screwdriver were found on him. As of 2pm on Monday, he was still being held for questioning.
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In October, there was a series of break-ins targeting luxury houses and upscale flats on Hong Kong Island. A spate of incidents in the first week of October prompted police to launch an anti-burglary operation.
On October 24, the home on The Peak of a former commander of Hong Kong’s Auxiliary Police, Arthur Kwok Chi-shun, was targeted by a burglar who left empty-handed after triggering an alarm.
The number of burglaries reported across the city fell 17.4 per cent to 808 in the first half of this year, compared with the same period in 2017, marking a record low since half-yearly crime statistics were first compiled in 1977.
