Police are hunting for five local men who made off with HK$5.8 million (US$743,299) in cash after ambushing a van in Sha Tau Kok in the New Territories on Monday.
At 3pm a 63-year-old man surnamed Mok and his 28-year-old son were driving a delivery van along Sha Tau Kok Road when it was ambushed by another van. Two men intercepted the Moks, Apple Daily reported.
Three other men got out of a second car. All five robbers wore black masks, black gloves and black caps.
Three robbers held weapons as they approached the driver. They smashed the window with a hammer and pointed a 15-centimeter-long knife at the father. Another robber used pepper spray on the victims’ faces.
The bandits snatched a bag containing HK$5.8 million before driving off in a silver car, with “3269” on the license plate, heading toward Sha Tau Kok. The first car that the robbers drove later burst into flames.
Mok senior worked for stores importing and exporting products on Chung Ying Street, the border street between Hong Kong and Shenzhen of mainland China.
It is understood that the father got the stolen money from Shenzhen and planned to use it to buy iPhone X mobile-phones for his employers, Oriental Daily reported.
Police said a similar case happened in late August when the owner of an engineering company was intercepted by two cars in Sha Tau Kok and a briefcase was stolen. However, the victim told police it only contained some screwdrivers and documents.
Police did not rule out that the two cases were done by the same gang, adding that they are searching for five suspects who speak Cantonese aged between 20 and 40.