Officers gathering more information at the shop. Photo: Sam Tsang
Source:
https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3001650/robbery-broad-daylight-sham-shui-po-jewellery-store Law and Crime
More than HK$1.4 million in valuables stolen in daylight robbery at Hong Kong jewellery store
- Suspect took about 110 pieces of jewellery after showing salesmen a pistol-like object, but it was unclear whether man was really armed
- Robber ordered employee to take out three trays of gold jewellery, which included necklaces, bracelets and pendants
Police officers investigate a robbery at a Sham Shui Po jewellery store. Photo: Sam Tsang
A man stole more than HK$1.4 million in valuables from a Sham Shui Po jewellery shop in a four-minute broad daylight robbery on Thursday, sparking a police hunt.
A spokesman for the force said the suspect took about 110 pieces of jewellery after showing the two salesmen a pistol-like object. It was unclear whether the criminal was really armed.
At 10.20am, the man entered Sun Hai Jewellery and Goldsmith shop on Kweilin Street and shouted in Cantonese that he was there to commit a robbery.
Chief Inspector Kevin Cheong Kiu-wai said the suspect, aged around 40-50 and 1.7 metres tall, ordered staff to follow his directions or he would hurt them. One employee pressed an alarm to alert police immediately.
“He ordered one employee to take out three trays of gold jewellery, which included necklaces, bracelets and pendants. The suspect hastily put them into his cross-body bag,” Cheong said, adding no one was injured and no arrests were made.
“He fled in the direction of Yen Chow Street. The entire crime took three or four minutes.”
Police figures showed the number of jewellery and watch shop robberies jumped from two cases in 2017 to five last year.
Overall, the force recorded 147 robberies in 2018, a drop of 9.8 per cent compared with the previous year. None of the cases last year involved firearms or other weapons, such as stun guns.
Separately the police were searching for two men after they stole HK$160,000 in cash and a Rolex diamond watch worth HK$500,000 from a private car in Ngau Tau Kok at 11.17am.
Closed-circuit television from nearby shops showed that one man picked up a brick on the road, smashed the car windows and took a designer bag from inside.
He was then picked up by a BMW vehicle and fled. The 62-year-old victim called police after he returned and found the damaged car and missing property.