Hong Kong police are hunting down two male robbers who slashed a man and stole his HK$270,000 Rolex watch at a railway station on Tuesday.
According to a police Facebook post, the victim had scheduled to meet the buyer of the luxury watch from a trading website at Tai Wai MTR station concourse at around 5 pm.
In an online video shared by the police, the two robbers – who wore black tops and caps – appeared to attack the victim with a knife and a rod while trying to snatch his bag.
Local media reported the bag contained a Rolex Daytona watch, and that the victim was a 47-year-old engineer surnamed Ng, who recently returned to Hong Kong from Australia.
During the incident, Ng fell to the floor as he tried to defend himself and protect his belongings; but he was surrounded by the attackers who took his bag, fled the station via Exit D and headed towards an adjacent footbridge. Another video circulated online showed the robbers entering a white vehicle outside a nearby restaurant and fleeing the scene.
Internet photos appeared to show Ng covered in blood. He suffered injuries to his head, hands, back and feet, according to local media. He was first treated by MTR staff and was later sent to the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin for treatment.
Police said the two suspects were around 30 to 40-years-old, and that Sha Tin District’s crime unit had take over the investigation. They urged anyone who witnessed the attack or had information about the case to contact them as soon as possible.
The force also cited recent armed robbery cases involving expensive watches when reminding citizens to put their luxury belongings in a safe place and avoid bringing large amounts of cash out in public.
“When citizens engage in tradings of luxury goods with strangers online or other channels, they should be more careful and avoid becoming the target of bandits,” the force wrote.
Last Saturday, a 23-year-old man carrying a HK$1.6 million Richard Mille watch was knifed and robbed by four armed assailants in Tin Shui Wai. On July 23, four men attacked a 32-year-old watch shop owner in Tsim Sha Tsui and ran off with a Richard Mille watch that was worth HK$1.4 million.
