A man was stabbed by three masked men at a Hong Kong International Airport car park early on Thursday and robbed of HK$7 million ($893,120) worth of gold bars.
The 36-year-old victim was found conscious but with limb injuries and was hospitalized, while the suspects escaped. Police have launched an investigation and, as of late Thursday evening, have made no arrests or seized any gold.
The victim, who had just returned from Bali, Indonesia, told the police that he was collecting his car at the airport’s parking lot shortly after midnight when three masked men attacked him. The assailants, armed with knives, stole his backpack, which contained six gold bars weighing about six kilograms in total. After stabbing the victim in his left hand and foot, the robbers fled in a seven-seater vehicle, reportedly carrying four men, including the driver.
According to market prices quoted by major Hong Kong banks, the value of the 6-kg gold haul is estimated to be around HK$7 million.
Police cordoned off the car park building and recovered bloodstained tissues, rubber gloves, and other items. Roadblocks were also set up at major traffic junctions across the city.
Investigators said that the three robbers, aged 20 to 30, fled toward Tung Chung in a vehicle believed to be bearing fake license plates.
The case has been classified as a robbery and has been transferred to the New Territories South Regional Headquarters crime unit.
In March, a gold trading company at Peninsula Square in Hung Hom was robbed of 73 gold bars, weighing 1 kilogram each and valued at about HK$93 million. Police arrested five suspects — four men and one woman — in Central and Tai Po later that evening, and recovered all the stolen gold. One of the suspects had previously been a business partner of the shop manager, according to reports.
Contact the writer at amber@chinadailyhk.com