Police officers investigate the scene at Chow Sang Sang Jewellery shop in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: David Wong
Source:
https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2112009/hong-kong-woman-finds-stolen-hk1-million-diamond-ring-tsim Law and Crime
Hong Kong woman finds stolen HK$1 million diamond ring in Tsim Sha Tsui park
Item confirmed to be one of nine pieces stolen in daring HK$24 million robbery
Police searching for evidence at Kowloon Park. Photo: Handout
A diamond ring worth about HK$1 million has been found in a Tsim Sha Tsui park and confirmed to be one of nine pieces of jewellery stolen in a daring daylight smash-and-grab robbery, according to police sources.
The ring was found by a middle-aged woman in Kowloon Park on Tuesday afternoon, about five hours after three thieves escaped on a motorcycle with HK$24 million worth of jewellery from the Tsim Sha Tsui branch of Chow Sang Sang jewellery in Canton Road. The park is just hundreds of metres away from the store.
Describing the woman as a “good-hearted” and “honest” citizen, one police source said the park-goer took the ring to the nearby Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station on Nathan Road after she found it.
At about midday on Wednesday, two sledgehammers believed to be linked to the robbery were found in bushes in the same park.
During lunchtime, officers from Police Tactical Unit combed the park with detectives to gather evidence.
The source believed the ring had been dropped by the culprits. The two passengers on the getaway motorcycle reportedly got off after a brief ride and ran into the park, fleeing towards Yau Ma Tei.
The blue Suzuki motorcycle used in the robbery was found abandoned at Man Wui Street, Yau Ma Tei at about 5pm. Police said the vehicle had been reported stolen.
As of 12.30pm on Wednesday, the three robbers were still on the run.
Officers are still examining security camera footage in an effort to identify the three men and trace their escape route. Detectives from the Yau Tsim district crime squad are handling the case.
The hold-up happened at about 10am on Tuesday soon after staff at the shop took the valuables from a vault and put them on display. The store usually opens at 10.30am.
Two of the culprits, wearing hats, masks and gloves, used sledgehammers to smash open a display window and steal nine pieces of jewellery before they jumped on the motorcycle, driven by a third man, and escaped.
Chief Inspector Frances Lee King-hei of the Yau Tsim district crime squad said on Tuesday that police were also investigating whether the trio were linked to previous robberies.
The incident comes six months after a masked robber took just seven seconds to smash open a display window with a hammer and make off with a diamond ring worth HK$5.26 million from the Tsim Sha Tsui branch of 3D-Gold on Nathan Road in March. The robber is still at large.
According to official statistics, police handled 102 reports of robberies across the city in the first seven months of this year, down 36 per cent from the 161 cases in the same period last year.