Mysterious signs and coin placements in some public housing estates have made residents fear their apartments are being targeted by burglars, possibly planning to strike during the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays.
Oriental Daily reported that a resident surnamed Yip living at Tak Hong House in Hau Tak Estate in Tseung Kwan O, New Territories, said that since last month, he had been finding coins placed in the staircases, in the corridors, under windows or on the lobby floor.
The number of coins, their value and placements were different in each location.
Yip removed the coins but more reappeared at the same locations later.
A reporter from the newspaper also found that after Yip had removed some of the coins on January 15, more reappeared at the same location the next day.
Yip suspects that the coins could have been left by burglars looking for targets.
Sai Kung District Councilor Kan Siu-kei received a resident’s complaint that some coins had been found in front of the door of his apartment in Shung Tak Estate, another public housing estate in Tseung Kwan O.
Strangers were spotted taking photos in the corridors.
Meanwhile, mysterious “X” signs were found near several apartments at Cherry House in So Uk Estate in Kowloon’s Sham Shui Po area.
Residents fear a wave of break-ins during the Lunar New Year holiday next month when many families will be away.
The management offices of Hau Tak Estate and Sheung Tak Estate said their security guards did not find any coins during patrols, adding that they will increase the number of patrols.
From 2015 to October 2017, police arrested 35 people and recorded 173 burglaries in Tseung Kwan O, figures from the police force showed.