Hong Kong police seek man accused of taking HK$10,000 from claw machines

Hong Kong police are searching for a man suspected of taking about HK$10,000 from four deposit boxes at a claw machine shop in Tai Kok Tsui. Police said the shop’s 46-year-old owner, surnamed Cheung, reported the incident at around 11.10am after watching it on surveillance cameras. According to the report, a man in his thirties entered the unstaffed shop and used a key to open the cash boxes in four machines.

CCTV footage circulating online shows a man wearing a black cap, a T-shirt, white shorts and white shoes entering the shop at about 7.35am. He appears to inspect the premises before taking a bunch of keys from his pocket. The man first tried one key, which did not work.

He then used another key to open a machine’s deposit drawer, removed the box and emptied its contents into a black bag. He repeated the process at three other machines but was unable to open a fifth. The entire operation lasted less than 90 seconds, according to the report.

The man then left the premises. Police said he appeared to have a tattoo on his right arm and are working to identify him and establish how he obtained the key. The case has been classified as theft and is being handled by the duty investigation team of Mong Kok police district.

No arrest was reported in connection with the incident. The investigation follows another reported theft at a claw machine shop. Police last week arrested three men suspected of using crowbars to steal Jellycat dolls and other plush toys worth about HK$70,000 from a shop in Tai Wai.

The toys were allegedly intended for resale.