A pawnshop on Rua de Coimbra in Nape was robbed of HK$145,000 in cash by a male visitor from the mainland early yesterday morning, and Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lou Chan Fai said during a special press conference yesterday afternoon that the suspect was arrested in Zhuhai about four hours after committing the crime.
The robbery occurred at about 5:40 a.m. yesterday when the suspect – a 49-year-old surnamed Nan – pretended to be a customer and spoke to one of the pawnshop’s two female shop assistants outside for a few seconds, after which he suddenly dashed into the shop and closed the main gate, holding a fruit knife to her neck and forcing her to open the cash register, according to Lou, who quoted the shop representative – a non-local resident – as saying that the man snatched HK$145,000 in cash and quickly fled the scene. The robbery took just about one minute.
The Judiciary Police received a referral from the Public Security Police (PSP) about the robbery at about 6 a.m. yesterday, Lou noted, when a PJ investigation found that Nan had meanwhile taken a taxi to the Barrier Gate checkpoint to return to the mainland.
The Judiciary Police then activated their police liaison mechanism with the mainland police and notified them of the case, Lou said, adding that under the command of the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department, the Zhuhai Public Security Bureau (PSB) arrested Nan at about 10 a.m. yesterday, i.e., after just about four hours after the robbery, and recovered about 20,000 yuan and HK$14,000 in cash from him.
According to Lou, at the time of the robbery, there were two female staff members on duty in the shop. One of them was on the mezzanine and was not injured, while the shop assistant, who was held at knifepoint, was taken to the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre with a minor injury.
When asked whether the suspect had “cased the joint” before committing the crime and whether there were more suspects involved, as well as the whereabouts of the knife he used in the robbery, Lou said that the police forces from the two sides were still conducting an in-depth investigation, underlining that the Judiciary Police announced the case as soon as the arrest of the suspect in Zhuhai to address the concerns of the media and the public about the case.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lou Chan Fai (centre) and two senior PJ investigators look on during yesterday’s special press conference about the wee hours’ robbery in Nape. – Photo: Yuki Lei
