Hong Kong police launch manhunt after robbers grab HK$10 million in watches during daylight raid

At least four robbers made off with HK$10 million worth of watches from a Hong Kong shop on Friday lunchtime, sparking a citywide police manhunt.

Police were called to the Yau Ma Tei store on the ground floor of Yan On Building in Kwong Wa Street, near Kwong Wah Hospital, by a woman at about 1.30pm.

According to a police source, two men posed as customers to rob the Union Watch store while a third suspect acted as a lookout outside the shop. A fourth man drove a getaway car.

Inside the shop, one of the robbers threatened a male employee with a knife before the pair snatched more than 20 watches.

Police were initially told by a staff member that the haul was worth HK$10 million (US$1.28 million), the source said, but added officers were still in the process of determining how many watches were stolen and what the exact value was.

The four men fled in a getaway car – a white Toyota Picnic – before officers arrived.

The number of reports of robbery and burglary rose in the summer as police resources have been stretched dealing with violent anti-government protests.

In August, police stopped patrolling Hong Kong’s streets on foot because of the lack of available officers, as well as the heightened risk of being attacked by protesters. Officers are instead patrolling in police vans.

Latest police figures show reports of robbery rose 6.5 per cent to 53 between June and September this year from 46 in the same period last year. The number of burglaries soared 48.8 per cent to 720.

Separately, police were called to investigate a burglary at 2.17am on Friday after HK$120,000 worth of valuables were stolen from a village house at Chung Uk Tsuen off Lam Kam Road, Tai Po.

The case came to light when the male tenant, 38, woke and found a male burglar ransacking his bedroom. Police said the stolen property included a HK$110,000 watch and HK$10,000 ring. Officers combed the area, but no arrest was made.