Singaporean man, 73, charged after allegedly robbing Hong Kong bank with toy gun
A 73-year-old Singaporean man was arrested for allegedly robbing a bank in Kowloon on Apr 14, 2022. (Image: Screengrab from Facebook video/Hong Kong Police Force)
SINGAPORE: A 73-year-old Singaporean man was charged in a Hong Kong court on Saturday (Apr 16) for allegedly robbing a bank in Kowloon's Mong Kok district, escaping with HK$14,000 (S$2,400) in cash.
According to Hong Kong police, the suspect had used a toy gun in the robbery, which took place at Nathan Road on Thursday.
News outlet The Standard identified the bank as a China Construction Bank branch.
It quoted West Kowloon crime unit superintendent Alan Chung as saying that the man handed a note to a female bank teller that said he was carrying out a robbery, before threatening her with the gun.
He then gave her a black bag and told her to put the money inside, said the report. Chung added that the bank employee tried to give chase after the suspect walked out but he ran across the street and boarded a bus.
Superintendent Chung was reported as saying that the police set up roadblocks to look for the suspect in buses and at bus stations. Hong Kong police said no one was injured in the incident.
The man was arrested in the Yuen Long district at about 11pm on Thursday on suspicion of robbery and overstaying, police said.
Police added that the man was reported to be wearing a blue-black windbreaker, black trousers and dark-coloured shoes, as well as a pair of sunglasses and a black mask.
The police said they later found some of the cash and the clothes worn by the suspect at his home.
The man has allegedly been overstaying in the city for about 10 years. Police said he is linked to another robbery at a pharmacy in Mong Kok in July 2020. A lighter was said to have been used in that incident.
He is due to appear in court on Apr 21.
