Man arrested over robbing Hong Kong pet shop with fruit knife

A man has been arrested for allegedly robbing a Hong Kong pet shop at knifepoint, with police tracking down the suspect within less than nine hours of the incident after reviewing footage from cameras installed as part of a citywide surveillance push.

Inspector Wong Ka-hung from the Tuen Mun district crime squad said on Sunday that the man was suspected of entering the shop on Tsing Pak Path with a 30cm (11.8-inch) knife at around 3.30pm the day before and intimidating a female employee into handing over money and valuables collectively worth about HK$2,400 (US$307) from the store’s cash register and her purse.

“The Tuen Mun police district devoted substantial manpower to the case; mobilising officers from the crime, intelligence and anti-triad sections, as well as task force personnel to review large amounts of surveillance footage captured near the site,” Wong said.

The inspector said the suspect had fled the scene after obtaining the valuables, while the shop worker had contacted her supervisor and police.

Wong said the suspect was arrested in Tuen Mun at midnight after officers gathered information on the alleged perpetrator’s physical appearance and the route he took to leave the scene.

Some of the footage in the case came from devices installed as part of a citywide policy to boost the number of surveillance cameras.

The force began installing the cameras in April of last year, with 615 cameras already set up by the end of 2024.