10-year-old arrested over HK$3.7m Hong Kong watch robbery
Hong Kong Free Press
A 10-year-old boy, who reportedly skipped school to take part in a HK$3.7 million smash-and- grab raid, has been arrested by Hong Kong police.
Local media said the boy, who said to have worn a coat over his school uniform during Monday’s raid, was arrested on Tuesday and taken back to the scene of the robbery in Tsim Sha Tsui on Wednesday afternoon, wearing a black hood.
The boy, said to be 1.7 metres tall, is alleged to have been one of three people who carried out the robbery at a store on Canton Road that sold luxury handbags and watches. He was reportedly paid HK$5,000 to take part.
Superintendent Alan Chung of the Kowloon West regional crime unit said the robbery took just half a minute before the trio fled in a vehicle believed to have fake licence plates.
A sledgehammer was left inside a smashed display case at the scene and officers also seized a knife that the suspects left behind.
Local media said the boy told his parents he was headed to school that day, but instead skipped class to commit the robbery. He was reportedly wearing a jacket over his school uniform at the time.
Four suspects
“They took 20 watches with a combined value of around HK$3.7 million and left a knife and a hammer at the scene of the crime,” Chung told reporters, adding that the watches were later found in a backpack in the woods of Fei Ngo Shan.
That was also where officers arrested a 19-year-old male suspect.
Officers arrested a 17-year-old later that night in Sau Mau Ping on suspicion of misleading an officer with false information. He is reportedly the brother of one of the suspects.
According to local media, officers also arrested a fourth suspect, aged 14, in Yuen Long on Wednesday. He was reportedly one of the robbers who took part in the smash-and-grab.
Hong Kong law defines a child in criminal matters as anyone under the age of 14. A person below the age of 10 cannot be found guilty of a criminal offence.
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https://hongkongfp.com/2023/09/14/10-year-old-arrested-over-hk3-7m-hong-kong-watch-robbery/