Hong Kong man arrested after toddler, domestic helper rescued from Cyberport kidnapping attempt
- The child and helper, who live at the upscale Residence Bel-air housing estate, were bundled into a car at about 8.30am on Wednesday, then driven to Pat Heung in the New Territories
- Villagers came to the pair’s rescue after hearing the domestic worker’s shouts for help at about 11am; police made an arrest in connection with the case early on Thursday morning
Hong Kong police have arrested a man in connection with the kidnapping of a toddler and domestic helper who were dramatically rescued on Wednesday just hours after they were bundled into a car, then locked inside a shipping container.
The 19-month-old girl and 39-year-old woman caring for her were snatched on Victoria Road near Cyberport in Pok Fu Lam at about 8.30am on Wednesday, according to a police source.
He said the helper was taking the toddler – the daughter of a Japanese man who runs a sushi restaurant in the city – to a preschool near her home at the Residence Bel-air housing estate when two men jumped from a black car and grabbed them.
They were then driven to a hillside near Tai Wo Tsuen village in the New Territories’ Pat Heung area, where they were pushed into a shipping container that had been turned into an office and used to store construction materials.
When the man who had stayed behind to guard them left shortly after 11am, the woman managed to take the girl and climb onto the roof of the container via an opening in a window, according to the source.
When the suspect realised what was happening and returned to the container, the maid began shouting for help, alerting nearby villagers, who came to the pair’s rescue. Their abductor then fled on foot.
Hong Kong police rescue cryptocurrency trader held for HK$30 million ransom
A villager told local media he brought a ladder to help the victims climb down from the roof of the container and a pair of scissors to cut through the plastic cord used to tie up the domestic worker.
“The woman appeared to be in shock,” he said.
Police immediately launched a manhunt for the kidnappers, deploying a tracking dog and a government helicopter.
Officers from the force’s identification bureau were also called in to collect fingerprints and evidence at the scene.
According to the force, a 42-year-old suspect was picked up in the Kwu Tung area of Sheung Shui at about 3.15am on Thursday.
“The two victims suffered [minor bruises] on their hands. They were treated and discharged from hospital on the same day,” police said in a statement.
Emotional father reunites with kidnapped son ‘after 14 years and 57 days’
As of Thursday afternoon, the suspect was still being held for questioning and had not been charged. Police said the investigation was under way and further arrests were possible.
The case has been classified as attempted kidnapping.
It was the second such case in the city in just five weeks. A cryptocurrency trader, 39, was kidnapped on November 6 and held for a HK$30 million ransom.
He was beaten and detained at a village house in Tai Po for nearly a week before being rescued by police on November 12.
In Hong Kong, abduction is punishable by up to life in prison under the Offences against the Person Ordinance.
In the first 10 months of this year, the city’s violent crime rate rose by 3.1 per cent, to 7,980 cases, compared with 7,737 reports for the same period last year.
