A Hong Kong court today sentenced a career criminal with two dozen convictions to his name to 12 years behind bars after he pleaded guilty to robbing a bank at gunpoint in Central last year.
To Hoi-keung, 58, admitted to robbing the Bank of East Asia headquarters in Central on February 28, 2018, and fleeing the scene with HK$71,390 (just over US$9,000) in cash.
CCTV footage posted online shows To pointing a gun at bank employees as they take out stacks of cash from a drawer and place them into a plastic bag. He then takes the bag and leaves the building.
To was arrested in his apartment in Tin Shui Wai on the same day as the robbery, and the gun used was found to be an air gun.
During a preliminary investigation, To also admitted to stealing a HK$17,000 (US$2,170) gold necklace from a jewelry store on Castle Peak Road in Yuen Long on March 6, 2017, Headline Daily reports.
According to Headline Daily, To has a long history of criminal behavior dating back to 1983, and has been convicted for 24 crimes that include burglary, theft, robbery, and illegal imprisonment.
To was involved in an armed robbery at a Dao Heng Bank branch on Hennessy Road in 1987 in which he fired a shot at the bank before holding six people hostage on a minibus in a stand-off that lasted eight hours. He was sentenced to 16 years in jail for that incident.
Other notable crimes include one in 2003, when he was jailed for 10 years for robbing several prostitutes, and in January 2016, when he was arrested for stealing a gold chain worth about HK$23,000 (over US$2,900) from a jewelry shop in Sham Shui Po.
He was last released from prison in 2016.
Appearing at the High Court this morning, To pleaded guilty to one count of robbery and one count of theft.
Headline Daily reports that during sentencing, Justice Audrey Campbell-Moffat described To as a professional criminal and a clear danger to society.
