Hong Kong police hunt smash-and-grab robbers who stole HK$1.1 million worth of jewellery from Tin Shui Wai store
- Terrifying ordeal as four men smash into glass counters, threatening staff while shoppers flee
- Incident in Tin Shui Wai lasts about a minute before suspects make off with valuables, sparking manhunt
A citywide manhunt is under way for a smash-and-grab gang which threatened staff before making off with HK$1.1 million (US$142,000) worth of valuables from a jewellery store in northern Hong Kong, the second such robbery in as many weeks.
Five members of staff and a customer were inside the Far East Jewellery shop in Tin Shui Wai when four robbers stormed in with sledgehammers and retractable batons shortly after 7.30pm on Tuesday.
A video clip shared online showed the masked assailants rushing the store on the first floor of the T Town North shopping centre in Tin Wah Road as onlookers fled.
“The robbers threatened staff with the weapons and then used hammers to smash the glass display counters,” police said.
The footage showed staff members and a customer leaving the shop and gathering outside under the watch of one of the thieves. Staff at the MaBelle jewellery store opposite had pulled down their shutters.
According to police, the gang stole HK$1.1 million worth of gold ornaments during the one-minute robbery before the men, wearing hoodies, masks and gloves, made their getaway in a car that sped off towards Lau Fau Shan.
The vehicle was found at 8.30pm on fire and abandoned under the Kong Sham Western Highway flyover near Ha Tsuen Road, which is about 4km from the shopping centre.
A police spokesman said two sledgehammers were found in the burnt vehicle after firefighters doused the flames.
Officers combed the area, but no arrests were made. Detectives from the Yuen Long district crime squad are handling the case.
On June 2, two masked robbers, carrying a sledgehammer and a knife, escaped with HK$3 million worth of valuables from a Tuen Mun jewellery shop. The pair fled in a getaway car driven by a third man.
In 2017 and 2018, there were a number of high-profile smash-and-grab robberies, prompting local jewellery and goldsmith shops to enhance security.
In September 2017, three thieves fled on a motorbike with HK$24 million worth of goods after smashing a store window with hammers at a Canton Road jewellery shop in the Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district.
In March 2018, police arrested three tourists from Colombia after they made off with HK$40 million worth of jewellery in a smash-and-grab in Central.
Daring daylight robbery sees gang make off with HK$3 million in gold
The two latest cases happened weeks after the force again shifted officers from their normal duties onto the 6,000-strong riot squad.
The move came amid concerns about potential unrest tied to the pending national security law and the anniversary of the start of last year’s anti-government protests.
About 4,000 officers returned to their original posts at the time, only for the squad to be reassembled on May 24.
According to official statistics, reports of robbery across the city increased about fivefold to 122 in the first three months of this year, from 23 in the same period last year.
