Tai Wai restaurant safe cracked, $800,000 in cash stolen

A restaurant in Tai Wai was burgled early on Monday (Feb 23), with about HK$800,000 in cash—equivalent to two days of takings—stolen after a safe was forced open.

Police said staff returned to the restaurant at about 6.34am on the second floor of a shopping arcade in Mei Tin Estate and found the accounts room ransacked, with the safe pried open and overturned.

Officers believe the suspects forced open a rear door linking the premises to the mall, entered the accounts room and broke into the safe. Four cash boxes were also opened and emptied, leaving only coins behind.

The stolen sum was weekend revenue collected from seven branches operated by the restaurant group.

The suspects also removed and damaged the CCTV recording system.

A staff member said the operation appeared to be well planned, noting the safe was badly damaged and the CCTV system taken away.

The owner said the cash had been kept on-site as it could not be deposited over the weekend. He admitted it was a lapse in judgment but said a damaged fire exit door leading to the mall had posed a security risk.

He added that complaints had been made to the Housing Department for more than two months, but no repairs had been carried out.

Police are investigating.