Robbery gone wrong? Money exchange shop owner, 71, bleeds to death two hours after throat slashed
The 71-year-old suffered a fatal neck wound and was discovered by a customer
The owner of a money exchange shop is suspected to have bled to death two hours after his throat was slashed in what appears to have been a botched robbery in his store in Tai Po on Monday, police have said.
Officers believe Yiu Chik-chuen, 71, was attacked with a box cutter after a masked robber followed him into the ground-floor shop in Wan Tau Street near the junction with Kwong Fuk Road at about 9.30am.
“Security camera footage showed the masked man left the shop about 15 minutes later,” Superintendent Li Kwai-wah of the New Territories North regional crime unit said.
“A 20m to 30m trail of bloodstained footprints found inside and outside the shop was believed to have been left behind by the culprit.”
Officers believe the culprit fled empty-handed from the shop after failing to open a safe and finding about HK$560,000 the victim hid in secret pockets of his jacket.
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“It is possible the victim was cut in the throat as he refused to open the safe and hand over the money,” a source with knowledge of the investigation said.
