10-year jail sentence gives Hong Kong watch thief plenty of time to contemplate crimes
- Cai Man-koon’s third heist saw him pull an airgun on surprised staff and walk off with three Omega watches worth almost HK$600,000
- The 27-year-old was arrested when he returned from Macau after police identified him from security footage
A Hong Kong man who tried to repay a million-dollar debt by stealing a pair of Rolex watches within a week, then using an airgun to relieve an Omega shop of three timepieces less than two months later has been jailed for 10 years.
The High Court on Tuesday heard purchasing agent Cai Man-koon, then 25, had posed as an interested customer to trick staff into lowering their guard and taking luxury watches out of their case for him to try on during visits to three shops between August 7 and September 30, 2018.
On the first two occasions, he fled as soon as he put on the watches. Things escalated in the third instance, when he pulled out an airgun and declared it was a robbery. He subsequently fled to Macau.
The two Rolexes stolen from Tai Fok Jewellery in Yuen Long and Shun King Jewellery & Watch in Sheung Shui were valued at HK$84,456 and HK$65,000, respectively, while the three timepieces taken from the Omega store inside The One shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui were worth HK$599,800.
All the watches were subsequently pawned for a total of 219,000 yuan (HK$243,000), though the three Omegas were later recovered after Cai was arrested upon his return to Hong Kong.
Police grabbed him at the Lok Ma Chau Control Point on December 19, 2018, after identifying him from security footage.