A man suspected to be responsible for three robberies involving the use of an axe was arrested in Tuen Mun at around 1:30pm on Wednesday.
The man, 32, is of Vietnamese nationality and holds a recognisance form. He admitted to police that he was behind the robberies, though police are still looking for the axe and around HK$20,000 worth of stolen cash, said Li Kwai-wah, acting senior superintendent (crime) of the New Territories North Regional Headquarters.
The man was suspected to have robbed three 7-11 stores within a week in Mong Kok, Cheung Sha Wan and Tuen Mun. No injuries were reported in the incidents.
The latest robbery took place in the early hours of Tuesday, when a man entered a store at around 3am on Boundary Street in Mong Kok wielding an axe. He made off with HK$5,800.
A similar incident took place at a store in Cheung Sha Wan at around 2am on Sunday. A man stole HK$5,800 in cash.
Footage widely circulated on social media apparently shot from a security camera at the store showed the suspect yelling at staff members in Cantonese: “Give me all the cash. Quick!”
A third incident occurred in Tuen Mun last Tuesday. At around 2:30am, a man threatened two shopkeepers at the 7-11 store in Shan King Estate with an axe of about 30 centimetre long. He took away HK$8,600 in cash.
Police believed the same person was behind the robberies because of their similar nature and the suspect’s similar physical features described by witnesses.