Unending protests in HK give criminals a free rein
Print Edition
FOUR days before his 66th birthday, Chan, a security guard in Hong Kong, died at a hospital on Saturday after being hit in the head with a hammer in a night-time burglary.
Chan was found by his colleagues inside a building in Kwun Tong area at small hours on December 11, his hands tied and face covered with blood. The police later recovered a hammer at the scene and found that a restaurant on the second floor was broken in. They believed Chan, on a night shift that day, was killed during the burglary. Further investigations were underway.
The case was one of the rising number of crimes that plagued Hong Kong recently. In fact, the crime rate in Hong Kong had been dropping for years, hitting the lowest level last year since 1974. Unfortunately, the trend was reversed by the recent social unrest.
While the police were busy dealing with violent acts ranging from vandalizing shops, setting fires and assaulting innocent people, criminals exploited the chaos and raided homes and shops.
Burglary and robbery cases skyrocketed, up 90 percent and 97 percent year-on-year respectively during the July-October period. There was almost one robbery a day in October.
Hong Kong residents used to have great confidence in public security as the police force was efficient and the public had a high awareness of crime prevention, said Tsang Chung-bun, assistant district commander (crime) in Yau Tsim of Hong Kong police.
“However, frightened by the frequent violent incidents over the past months, residents did not dare to report the cases, and the criminals became more rampant and committed more serious crimes,” Tsang said.
On November 24, four burglaries occurred in merely two hours in various districts of the New Territories and Kowloon, in which criminals stole jewelry, watches, cash and other property worth about HK$1.47 million (US$190,000).
On December 1, while a large number of police officers were deployed to deal with the violent demonstrations in Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hom, five criminals raided a gold shop in To Kwa Wan, smashing the glass of the counter with knives and hammers, and robbed gold jewelry worth more than HK$2 million.
If the riots continue, Hong Kong should prepare for further deterioration of public security, lawmaker Elizabeth Quat said, suggesting measures including repairing surveillance cameras damaged during the months-long unrest.
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