- Two suspects used sledgehammer to break cabinets in Sham Shui Po jewellery store
- Police investigating if same gang stole HK$2 million of valuables in Sunday raid, and was behind similar robbery in November
Two armed robbers wielding a sledgehammer stole HK$3 million (US$383,000) worth of valuables from a Hong Kong jewellery store in a daring daylight raid on Monday " the second robbery of its kind in the city in less than 24 hours.
On Sunday, four masked robbers smashed the glass cabinets with a hammer at a jewellery shop in To Kwa Wan, and grabbed HK$2 million worth of gold items before fleeing in a taxi driven by an accomplice at about 3.40pm.
A police source said officers are investigating if the two cases are linked, and whether the same gang also struck in an armed robbery in November, when HK$2.5 million in jewellery and cash was taken from a shop in Tsuen Wan.
Monday's robbery occurred at the Fook Tai store on Castle Peak Road in Sham Shui Po at about 11am when two suspects carrying a knife and a sledgehammer ran into the store.
"The two men used a hammer to smash the glass on the display counters and snatched jewellery before they fled in a white car," a police spokeswoman said.
Officers are investigating whether a third suspect was driving the getaway car the suspects fled in, and police were scouring security camera footage for clues.
The sledgehammer used by the robbers was found inside the shop where glass fragments were scattered on the floor, along with several gold ornaments.
There has been a rise in the number of reports of robberies and burglaries since the summer, with police resources stretched by the violent anti-government protests that have swept the city.
Hong Kong police hunt two men over Tsim Sha Tsui robbery of HK$15 million
Since August, Hong Kong police have stopped patrolling city streets on foot because of a lack of available officers, as well as the perceived risk of being attacked by protesters. Officers are now patrolling in police vans instead.
On November 17, a similar robbery happened in Tsuen Wan, when four robbers threatened the shop's employees with a knife and what appeared to be a handgun, smashed a glass cabinet, and fled with HK$2.5 million in jewellery and cash.
In 2017 and 2018, there were a number of high-profile smash-and-grab robberies that prompted local jewellery and goldsmith shops to enhance security.
In September 2017, three thieves fled on a motorbike with HK$24 million worth of jewellery after smashing a store window with hammers at a Canton Road jewellery shop in the busy shopping district of Tsim Sha Tsui.
In March 2018, police arrested three tourists from Colombia after they made off with HK$40 million worth of jewellery in a smash-and-grab robbery in Central.
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.
Last month, there were three robberies in Tsim Sha Tsui and nearby Yau Ma Tei within three weeks.
On November 27, three masked men attacked a man and his female relative and snatched her bag containing HK$1.2 million in Ashley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui.
Seven days before, a gang of six men attacked three mainland men and snatched their suitcase containing HK$15 million in Minden Avenue, Tsim Sha Tsui. On November 8, four robbers made off with HK$10 million worth of watches from a shop on Kwong Wah Street, Yau Ma Tei after one of the suspects threatened a male employee with a knife.
Copyright (c) 2019. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
