Hong Kong robbers who attempted HK$6.4m heist at Central MTR Station jailed for up to three years
Seven gang members shadowed foreign exchange courier carrying cash in her bag before striking; alleged mastermind still at large
Seven men who conspired to rob a foreign exchange courier carrying over HK$6.4 million cash in an orchestrated plan that involved three surveillance operations were sentenced on Thursday to jail terms of between 32 and 36 months.
The District Court was told that the robbery took place at the staircase of Central MTR Station’s Exit C shortly before 11am on September 23, 2014, when two men tried to snatch a trolley containing a nylon bag from a foreign exchange company employee, Hung Shuk-pui.
Hung was making routine cash deliveries from Lo Wu to Central – inside her bag was more than HK$6.43 million in various currencies.
Police officers on surveillance duty just seven metres away swooped as the two men struggled to flee with the trolley, which eventually broke. Hung was unharmed and her cash remained intact.
Although they played different roles, they each contributed to executing the plan. Their roles were equally culpable
Eight men were arrested and charged in the aftermath, as officers combed through surveillance evidence, Octopus card records, telephone records and closed-circuit camera footage.
Seven pleaded guilty earlier this month to one count of conspiracy to rob, while the charge against Ngan Chi-lung was dismissed.