A visitor arrested at the weekend over a deadly shooting during a botched hold-up in Hong Kong three decades ago will be brought before a court later on Monday, police have said.
Superintendent Alan Chung of the Kowloon West regional crime unit said the 59-year-old man, who was arrested when he arrived from mainland China, had been charged with murder and attempted robbery and would appear in Kowloon City Court in the afternoon.
He said the suspect’s fingerprints matched those collected at the scene of the failed robbery at a Sham Shui Po watch shop in 1991.
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Chung added that the results of a DNA test on a bloodstained T-shirt discovered in a getaway car used in the hold-up were also a match for the suspect.
The attempted robbery, on June 9, 1991, involved three men, carrying what appeared to be a pistol and a hammer, who stormed the Shun Fat Company second-hand watch shop on Pei Ho Street.
Chung said one of the robbers fired a shot at the head of an employee who later died in hospital. The other two men attempted to break a glass display cabinet but failed.
He said one of the robbers was believed to have been injured in the incident.
The three raiders fled empty-handed in a red car but it was caught in traffic congestion. The trio then abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot, leaving behind the bloodstained T-shirt in the car.
Hong Kong man wanted over fatal hold-up shooting arrested after 32 years on the run
The superintendent said police successfully identified a mainland man as one of the three suspects in 2021. He said the force sought help from mainland authorities to find the man, who was also placed on a police wanted list.
The suspect was picked up when he arrived in a seven-seater car from the mainland via the Shenzhen Bay control point on Saturday to attend the funeral service of his uncle.
Chung said due to the seriousness of the case, police immediately sought help from experts from the government laboratory to conduct DNA tests and fingerprint analysis.
“We believe he was one of the robbers. We are still investigating his role to determine if he was the one who opened fire or used a hammer to smash the display cabinet,” he said.
Chung said police were still hunting the other two men in connection with the case.
More from South China Morning Post:
- Hong Kong man wanted over fatal hold-up shooting arrested after 32 years on the run
- Hong Kong court orders boy, 10, be held in juvenile home as police investigate his alleged role in HK$3.7 million watch store heist
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