Three robbers unscrewed the wheel of a Land Rover to lure its driver out and rob him at knifepoint. Photo: Handout
Source:
https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3035329/hong-kong-police-hunt-wheel-tampering-robbers-targeted Law and Crime
Hong Kong police hunt for wheel-tampering robbers that targeted Sai Kung bakery owner in dawn attack
- Victim tried to drive off in his Land Rover, but found the rear wheel had been tampered with, before masked culprits threatened him with a knife and stole HK$90,000
Three robbers unscrewed the wheel of a Land Rover to lure its driver out and rob him in Sai Kung. Photo: Handout
Police are hunting for three assailants who partly unscrewed a car wheel to lure its driver out and rob him of HK$90,000 at knifepoint around dawn on Tuesday.
A police source said the robbers – two men and one woman – went on to crash their getaway car in Sai Kung before carjacking a taxi, also at knifepoint.
The ordeal began when a 54-year-old man surnamed Cheng, owner of Sai Kung Cafe and Bakery in Sai Kung Hoi Pong Square, left his shop to pick up his Land Rover on Fuk Man Road shortly before 5am on Tuesday.
After driving for about 50 metres, he realised the car was running erratically, heard noises from one of the rear wheels, and pulled over to check.
“As he found five of the eight screws of the right rear wheel had been removed, two masked culprits approached and threatened him with a knife and the pair snatched an envelop carrying HK$90,000 from the car,” the police source said.
He said the two robbers then fled in a seven-seater Toyota, but soon crashed into a concrete flower bed. Two men and one woman were then seen jumping out of the Toyota, running down Chan Man Street and intercepting a taxi.
“They intercepted a taxi, threatened the cabby with a knife and ordered him to leave the vehicle before fleeing in the cab,” the police source said.
The taxi was found abandoned at Hung Kiu San Tsuen, off Man Kam Road in Sheung Shui around 6am with the video camera and hard drive taken. No one was arrested.
The taxi driver suffered minor hand injuries in the incident and was taken to Tseung Kwan O Hospital for treatment.
Describing the robbers’ tactics were “rare”, the police source said it was a planned robbery and detectives from Wong Tai Sin criminal investigation unit were investigating any links or reasons to target the bakery owner.
Police have yet to arrest anyone over the crime, but described the three Cantonese-speaking robbers as being aged between 20 and 30.
Separately, police were searching for a burglar who stole a HK$61,000 watch from a flat in Hing Fat Street, Tin Hau.
The case came to light after a 71-year-old woman found the male burglar in the living room soon after 4am. He fled before police arrived. A Rolex watch worth HK$61,000 was stolen from the bedroom of the woman’s daughter.
Officers scouted the area, but no arrest was made.
Police described the burglar as aged between 30 and 40, of thin build and wearing black clothes and shoes. North Point criminal investigation unit was handling the case.