A local jobless gambler was arrested on Saturday for robbing a Vietnamese woman of valuables worth 8,000 patacas in a residential building in Iao Hon earlier that day, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chan Wun Man said at yesterday’s special press conference.
The 24-year-old man is surnamed Kuok.
According to Chan, the suspect robbed the woman of her valuables in Son Lei Building in Rua Três do Bairro Iao Hon earlier that day. The victim, who is in her thirties, told the officers that she walked up to the first floor of the building in the afternoon on that day to wait on the staircase for her friend. A man entered the main door of the building and walked up the stairs, initially passing her. But he suddenly turned around, walked towards her and threatened her with a cutter, telling her to give him her valuables. The victim said that she was worried about her personal safety and handed over her gold necklace worth about 6,000 patacas. The man opened her handbag, removed 1,800 patacas and HK$200 in cash and then ran away.
Thanks to CCTV footage, the Judiciary Police identified Kuok and discovered that he went to a gold jewellery shop in Fai Chi Kei district to sell the gold necklace, after which he went to a casino in Zape to gamble, Chan said.
According to Chan, PJ officers arrested Kuok at the casino later that night. Kuok admitted to robbing the victim, saying that he had been jobless for several months and had a gambling habit. He told the police that he robbed the victim randomly to get cash for gambling. The PJ officers seized a cutter with an 8-cm-long blade from Kuok and in his home in Fai Chi Kei district they found the clothes he was wearing when he committed the robbery. The officers later retrieved the gold necklace from the gold jewellery shop.
Kuok was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing charges of robbery, possession of a prohibited weapon, and fraud, according to Chan.
The hooded robbery suspect is being escorted by Judiciary Police (PJ) officers from the PJ headquarters to a PJ vehicle yesterday. Photos: Iong Tat Choi
Evidence seized from the robbery suspect such as a cutter, a gold necklace, Hong Kong dollar note and two casino chips is displayed at the Judiciary Police (PJ) headquarters yesterday.
