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Police have arrested a 28-year-old man in connection with a crowbar burglary at a claw machine shop in Tai Wai, following a four-minute heist that prompted the owner to post a HK$100,000 bounty on social media.
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The arrest came after the female person-in-charge reported the break-in on Chik Sau Lane to police on Thursday, stating that a large batch of plush toys had been stolen from the arcade.
Following intelligence analysis and a thorough review of extensive security footage—including surveillance feeds from the police force's SmartView-eyed camera network—officers tracked down and arrested a 28-year-old local man in Sha Tin district on Friday afternoon on suspicion of theft.
The arrested man has been released on bail pending further investigation, while inquiries remain ongoing.
Security camera footage released by the shop shows two masked men wearing caps, one dressed in black and the other in white, breaking into the premises during the early morning hours.
Armed with a crowbar, the pair pried open two claw arcade machines and stuffed dozens of stuffed dolls into four large nylon carrier bags. Toward the end of the footage, the man dressed in black appeared ready to target a third machine.
However, after noticing that his partner's bags were already packed to capacity, the two men fled the scene with the suspected stolen goods. The entire burglary lasted approximately four minutes.
Following the raid, the shop owner posted the surveillance clips to a Facebook group and offered a HK$100,000 cash reward for information leading to the culprits.
The operator noted that the business runs eight branches across the city to reassure the public that the reward would be honored in full, urging anyone with information on the suspects to step forward.
