Hong Kong man arrested in connection with attempted knifepoint robbery of woman hiking alone on trail
A Hong Kong man has been arrested in connection with the attempted robbery of a 58-year-old female hiker at knifepoint in Tseung Kwan O.
Police on Saturday said they received a call from the woman at about 4.30pm on Thursday to report that she had been threatened by a man with a knife while on a solo hike on a trail near Tsui Ling Road.
The suspect, surnamed Lui, was arrested on Friday at about 11pm in Kin Ming Estate in Tseung Kwan O following an investigation, police said. Officers seized a kitchen knife as evidence.
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The woman suffered no losses or injuries, the force said.
Lui was being detained for further investigation, police said, adding that the case had been handed over to the Tseung Kwan O district criminal investigation department.
Hikers being robbed is not unheard of in Hong Kong, although most recent cases involved non-local suspects.
In 2022, a woman was attacked and robbed by a man with a knife when she was hiking on a hill in Tsz Wan Shan. She suffered minor injuries to a finger on her left hand during a struggle with the robber, who was not caught.
In recent years, at least three robbery cases took place on Eagle's Nest, a hill in Kowloon. According to police, the suspects were all Mandarin speakers.
Those convicted of robbery face a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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