Police arrest man who used air gun to rob Hong Kong bank and recover HK$35,000
Suspect in custody after Bank of East Asia branch in Harbour View Centre in Wan Chai robbed by armed man who later fled on bicycle
Hong Kong police have arrested a 51-year-old man on suspicion of robbing HK$35,000 (US$4,469) from a bank with an air gun and a hammer before escaping on a bicycle, with officers apprehending him and recovering the money in 90 minutes.
The force received a report at 12.26pm on Friday that the Bank of East Asia branch in Harbour View Centre in Wan Chai had been robbed.
Lam Kin-tat, assistant commander of crime of Wan Chai district, said the suspect claimed to be unemployed and was a Chinese man holding a recognisance form, a temporary identification document that allows holders to remain in Hong Kong but not to work.
“We believe that he was acting alone,” he told a press briefing.
Lam said the man pointed the air gun at bank staff, brandished a hammer and hit a transparent plastic sheet on the counter, demanding cash.
Officers trawled through a “large amount” of surveillance footage and found that the man had cycled to Admiralty before making his way to Chai Wan on the MTR, Lam said.