Hong Kong police arrest boy, 14, suspected of robbing mahjong players after victim corners him on street
- Suspect and two accomplices believed to be in their twenties allegedly robbed five victims at knifepoint
- Victim, 54, chased after robbers and cornered teenager on street before police were called
A 14-year-old student was arrested on suspicion of robbing a group of mahjong players at knifepoint with two other assailants in a Hong Kong flat in the early hours of Monday.
The suspect was caught by one of the victims – a 54-year-old man – at the junction of Argyle and Tung Choi streets in Mong Kok shortly before 12.30am while the other two robbers fled with more than HK$200,000 (US$25,484) worth of valuables.
A video posted online shows the teenage boy being held against a roadside railing by the victim, with dyed golden hair, who was holding a knife.
A source familiar with the case said the investigation suggested the knife the 54-year-old man was holding had been dropped by the boy.
The video, lasting two minutes and 17 seconds, shows the man hitting the boy’s cheeks and head with the knife blade more than 20 times. The boy was unhurt.
Footage also shows two officers holding their holsters in an apparent attempt to draw their guns when approaching the suspect and the victim at the intersection.
Officers lowered their guard after the victim handed them the knife, and they found out it was a robbery, the source said.
The hold-up happened when the victim’s wife, 44, and three other women, aged 31 to 44, were playing mahjong in the couple’s flat in nearby Wang On Building on Tung Choi Street shortly before 12.30am, the force said.
According to the source, one of the players earlier received a text message saying her male friend would come to join the session.
When the 54-year-old man answered the door, the boy entered the flat.
After realising it was a teenager, he was asked to leave. At this juncture, two other men rushed into the flat.
“The three robbers threatened five victims with knives and snatched a bag carrying a HK$200,000 Rolex watch, a HK$3,000 ring and an iPhone before running out of the flat,” the source said.
The couple then gave chase and stopped the teenage suspect.
According to police, the other two robbers are thought to be aged about 20.
As of Monday afternoon, the suspect, a Form Two student, was still being held for questioning.
Police handled 77 reports of robberies in 2022, down 37 per cent from 123 cases logged in 2021. Last year’s detection rate was 74 per cent.
