Hong Kong police capture suspect accused of robbing woman in North Point hotel room
Police raid the man’s home and find cash, a knife and a rucksack they believe was used in the robbery at The South China Hotel in North Point
A Hong Kong man was arrested on Tuesday in connection with a robbery in which a woman was handcuffed in her hotel room and robbed of more than HK$15,000.
The man, who is in his 30s and unemployed, was detained after police raided his flat in the Kornhill housing estate in King’s Road about lunchtime. Police had been searching for the suspect since early Monday morning.
Inside the flat, officers recovered most of the cash, including mainland and Hong Kong banknotes, stolen from the 20-year-old mainland woman in her hotel room in North Point.
A black rucksack the suspect was reportedly carrying at the time of the robbery was also seized along with a knife in the flat.
A police officer said the suspect was identified from security camera footage.
The man was being held for questioning in North Point police station and had yet not been charged.
The robbery happened at about 11.15pm on Sunday when a robber rang the doorbell and the victim answered the door in The South China Hotel on Java Road.
The culprit rushed into the room when the woman opened the door and handcuffed her as he ransacked her room. He fled with 9,300 yuan[HK$11,000], HK$4,800 and a mobile phone valued at HK$3,500.
After the robber left, the victim shouted for help, alerting her friend next door. The mainland woman suffered a bruise on her wrist bud did not require hospital treatment.
Police had described the robber as a Chinese man with golden-dyed hair aged between 30 and 35, of medium build, and standing 1.8 metres tall. He was wearing a dark-green top and jeans and carrying a black rucksack.
According to official statistics, police handled 137 reports of robbery across the city in the first 10 months of this year, down 39.1 per cent compared with the same period last year.
