Hong Kong police are investigating whether the burglary of an ATM – with a key, shortly after it had been stuffed with a fresh crop of cash – was an inside job. Ya think?
Two boxes of crisp notes, believed to amount to HKD1.7 million, were snatched from a HSBC ATM at the Domain shopping mall in Ko Chiu Road, Yau Tong, shortly after midnight yesterday.
It is believed the cash point was replenished with money just 45 minutes before the theft occurred, and that the thief left boxes containing HKD100 notes untouched.
“The culprit had a key to unlock the ATM and he was apparently aware of the time of the cash delivery and knew which boxes contained HKD500 banknotes,” a source close to the investigation told the SCMP. He added that the possibility of the theft being an inside job is being considered.
The case only came to light at 2pm after an inspection at 11am by the bank’s security company. Why it took them three hours to tell police is anyone’s guess, but no doubt some arses were covered during that time.
The two stolen cash boxes, each of which contained 1,700 HKD500 notes, were later found (empty, of course) in a flowerbed outside the mall.
Police say CCTV showed a masked Chinese man unlocking the ATM with a key just before midnight.
No arrests have so far been made.
