A 60-year-old man arrested by police investigating a brazen smash-and-grab raid on a jewelry store in Tsim Sha Tsui’s Harbour City led a prolific and notorious robbery gang in the 1980s and had been released after serving 21 years in prison, according to reports.
The suspect, identified as Ho Tung-shing, was arrested on Monday on Waterloo Road in Yau Ma Tei, five days after the robbery at the Prince Jewellery and Watch which was caught on CCTV and seen by several witnesses.
At a press conference yesterday, police said that there was nothing in initial investigations so far that suggest either a gang or syndicate was involved with the robbery.
Police also reassured the press that despite the recent spate of jewelry store robberies in recent months, Hong Kong was still a safe city with “historically low crime rates.”
His arrest came after another 55-year-old suspect, reportedly Ho’s younger brother, was detained on Sunday on Parkes Street in Jordan in connection with the heist and charged with conspiracy to rob.
According to the Apple Daily, officers recovered the all the stolen diamond ornaments, including one 10-carat precious stone worth HK$1.7 million (US$217,000), in a shoulder bag in Ho’s possession.
Reports have since revealed last week’s heist was the latest in a underworld career for Ho.
He reportedly led a gang which took more than HK$124 million (US$15.8 million) in more than a dozen robberies between 1986 and 1991.
According to Ming Pao, the suspect was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1993 after admitting a raft of charges.
These included 16 robberies, three attempted robberies, shooting with intent to resist arrest, and possession of arms and ammunition without a licence.
A victim was shot dead during one of the robberies, and another ended up paralysed with a bullet hitting his spinal cord, the outlet reported.
According to the SCMP, Ho was was handed 17 life terms for 15 of the robberies and the shooting offences, and was jailed for a total of 25 years for the other charges.
Ho was in 2004 given a minimum of 20 years jail after reforms that allowed prisoners without a definite term or discretionary life imprisonment to get a minimum sentence. The was released in 2014, sources told the newspaper.
According to Apple Daily, police arrested the pair after studying CCTV footage of the store and surrounding businesses. Ho was yesterday taken back to the crime scene as officers stage a reconstruction of the raid.
A representative of Prince Jewellery and Watch vowed to increase security measures.
