<![CDATA[Eight arrested over faked HK$1.8 million robbery in Hong Kong after infighting over money leads police to gang]>
Eight men have been arrested in Hong Kong over a faked HK$1.8 million (US$229,300) robbery after their plot fell apart when one suspect was seen being forced into a car following a money dispute with the others.
Revealing the details on Tuesday, police said the eight suspects were detained for misleading police officers and conspiracy to rob. Some were also held for unlawful detention.
The drama unfolded when one suspect, 38, reported to police that he had been robbed while on his way to a currency exchange shop on Ma Tau Chung Road, Kowloon City at around 1pm on Monday. The man claimed his briefcase, carrying about HK$1.78 million in cash, had been snatched.
The other vehicle stopped was a black Audi. Photo: Handout
Initially, police identified the man as the owner of a logistics company who was taking the cash to the shop to send it to mainland China. He claimed a gang of robbers attacked him, leaving him with head and arm injuries. He was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei for treatment.
Later in the afternoon, a gang member was seen being forcibly taken into a car in Kwai Chung. Police were called.
Police Emergency Unit vehicles later surrounded two cars, a Mercedes-Benz and an Audi, at the junction of Ta Chuen Ping and Shek Kin streets after a chase at about 6pm. A man, 29, said he was being detained by six others over money disputes, according to police.
Lui Sze-ho, chief inspector (crime) of Kowloon City district, said the two incidents were linked.
"On the unlawful detention case, the so-called financial dispute stemmed from arguments over the proceeds in a robbery case. The robbery case is the one in Kowloon City district," Lui said.
Some gang members detained an accomplice because of a row over sharing of the proceeds, he said.
Seven men arrested for HK$10 million robbery in Tsim Sha Tsui
Lui said their investigation also found the gang had orchestrated and staged the robbery.
He said investigators believed a man arranged for the gang to rob him and that there was no cash in his bag. But the inspector could not say why the man would get himself robbed, only that police did not rule out any possibilities.
"The directions of our investigation include the financial status of the detainees, their debt records and whether there is a possibility of embezzlement," he said.
Police did not rule out more arrests and a key point of the investigation was the source of the money, Lui added.
Additional reporting by Danny Mok
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Copyright (c) 2019. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
