Two suspected triad members among seven held over smashing of glass doors in Hong Kong office block
- Officers picked up five men and two women, aged 23 to 47, in a series of raids in Tsuen Wan and Yuen Long
- Police are investigating whether the incident was linked to a meeting of a financial firm in the building two days before the attack
Two suspected triad members were among seven people arrested on Wednesday in connection with a criminal damage case in which the glass doors of a Hong Kong office block were smashed with hammers two months ago.
The attack took place at the front entrance of Trust Tower on Johnston Road in Wan Chai around 12.05am on November 28 last year. It came two days after a shareholders’ meeting of financial services firm Convoy Global Holdings was halted midway through at its headquarters in the building. Anti-triad officers are investigating whether the attack was linked to the aborted meeting.
Police said the attack involved three South Asian men, two of whom used hammers to smash the doors.
“Security camera footage showed the three men came with two Chinese men to check out the area and hid weapons in a nearby alley a day before the incident,” Wan Chai district acting superintendent Ho Siu-tung said on Thursday.
He said the footage also showed the two Chinese men leaving in a car after scouting the area.
After identifying the suspects, officers picked up five men and two women, aged 23 to 47, in a series of raids in Tsuen Wan and Yuen Long on Wednesday. They were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit criminal damage – an offence that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail.
The two Chinese men are suspected members of the Sun Yee On triad. Ho said police were investigating whether the three other men were recruited by a triad group to carry out the attack. Officers are also trying to identify the mastermind behind the case.
He stressed police would spare no effort to deal with triad-related crimes. In the first 10 months of 2020, officers handled 1,304 reports of triad-related crimes, a 19.6 per cent rise from 1,090 over the same period in 2019.
Man, 20, charged with criminal damage banned from all but one mall
As of Thursday afternoon, the three alleged attackers were still being held for questioning. The other four suspects had been released on bail, pending further investigation.
Separately, police arrested a 16-year-old boy in connection with more than 40 cases of debt-related criminal damage between October last year and Wednesday.
Police believe the jobless teenager received cash to carry out the attacks, in which red paint was poured on targeted locations.
He was picked up in Eastern district at around 5am on Thursday. As of Thursday afternoon, he was still being held for questioning.
