14-9-2023 (HONG KONG) In an astonishing turn of events, a 10-year-old boy, still clad in his school uniform, has been apprehended by Hong Kong police for his alleged involvement in a high-value luxury watch heist. The young boy, a Form One pupil, was arrested on Wednesday (September 13) on suspicion of participating in the robbery of a luxury watch store amounting to HK$3.7 million (approximately S$642,000), as reported by Hong Kong news outlet The Standard.
The heist, which occurred on Monday at 3:40 pm, saw the 10-year-old boy, along with two other robbers, purportedly ambush the VIP Station store on Canton Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. Armed with a butcher’s knife and a sledgehammer and concealing their identities with caps and surgical masks, the three robbers, believed to possess Hong Kong identity cards but of Pakistani descent, menaced the store’s staff and smashed display counters. They made off with 20 luxury watches, including Rolex timepieces, before fleeing in a Toyota seven-seater with a fourth accomplice.
The entire smash-and-grab operation unfolded in just 30 seconds, according to the Hong Kong police. A female staff member sustained minor injuries during the incident and was subsequently taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment.
During the investigation, the 10-year-old boy allegedly confessed that he had been paid HK$5,000 to participate in the robbery. Furthermore, it was revealed that he had skipped school on the day of the heist to join the gang in their criminal activities.
On Wednesday, the young boy was taken to the VIP Station store to re-enact the crime before being placed under arrest.
In a separate development, a 14-year-old teenager was arrested during a raid on a guest house in Yuen Long. Superintendent Alan Chung Nga-lun of the Kowloon West regional crime unit disclosed that the police had initially apprehended a 19-year-old suspect on Monday at Kowloon Peak. The teenager was detained, and all the stolen watches were recovered from a backpack discovered in the nearby bushes, according to The Standard.
Another student, aged 17, was detained on Monday night on suspicion of providing misleading information to the police, as reported by the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
