A man who, along with an accomplice, allegedly attempted to steal a backpack containing HK$4 million (about US$510,000) was subdued by pedestrians and arrested after first making a couple of wrong turns in his bid to flee the scene.
Speaking to reporters last night, chief inspector Lui Sze-ho said the attempted robbery happened after 5pm outside the Whampoa MTR station, close to the junction of Hung Hom Road and Tak Man Street.
The victim, a 53-year-old man, was carrying a gray and blue backpack containing HK$4 million, which he had just changed from yuan after visiting a money exchange shop on Tak Man Street.
As he approached the Whampoa Garden housing estate, two men appeared, one armed with 30-centimeter knife, and slashed him on his left leg and right arm before running off with his backpack.
The duo ran along nearby Tak Fung Road, and after the victim called out for help, three men — an off-duty police officer and two Pizza Hut employees — gave chase.
Apple Daily published dash cam footage from a car parked on Tak Fung Road that shows the suspect with the knife make a right turn into a garbage disposal center, only to do an about-face and dash back out again.
One eyewitness, who gave her name as Angel told the newspaper that she saw the duo run into The Whampoa — a boat-shaped shopping mall near the MTR station — only to again double back and run out again, then take off running around the side of the mall.
The three men in pursuit, meanwhile, managed to catch up and subdue one of the suspects on Tak On Street, next to The Whampoa. The second suspect — who was holding the backpack and the knife — dropped everything and ran into a nearby bus terminus, the newspaper reports.
Lui said the suspect in custody was an Indian national and recognizance form holder who had been in the city for three years.
He added that authorities are still on the hunt for his accomplice, a South Asian man in his 20s or 30s with a beard, last seen wearing a cap, a black and gray long-sleeved top, and dark pants.
The three men who brought down the suspect were uninjured, while the victim of the attempted robbery was sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment and is in a stable condition.
