Masked men wielding a sledgehammer, a softball bat and buckets of red paint wreaked havoc in a Yuen Long grocery shop this week, in what the owner says is the second such attack following a phone call demanding she transfer the lease.
The intrusion was captured by the New Territory store’s CCTV system, which shows two masked men in white and black hoodies storm the premises, one with a sledgehammer and another with a bat.
For about 20 seconds, the men swing the weapons wildly around the shop, smashing shelves and items and shattering the glass windows of fridges.
A third man then enters the store with a bucket full of red paint, which he splatters over the interior.
The trio then smash the owner’s car and splash another bucket of paint over the outside of the store before escaping.
The owner, surnamed Tsu, told Oriental Daily that she hid behind the counter while the men vandalized the store.
“I ran out and followed them on the street, only to see them getting into a white car,” Tsui told the newspaper.
Tsui said that it was the second time that her store had been splattered with red painted by unknown assailants.
She said the previous case happened two month ago and that police caught a suspect but released him because of lack of evidence.
Tsui, who has rented the store for four years, said she suspected the vandalism was connected to a phone call she received two years ago.
She said the caller, whose identity was not mentioned in the story, demanded she transfer the store to him and leave, a request she refused.
