SINGAPORE – A Singaporean man who to rob a bank in Hong Kong in 2022 will be sentenced on March 11.
Leong How Seng, 75, pleaded guilty to one count of robbery and one count of attempted robbery in the Chinese territory’s High Court on March 10, according to Hong Kong media Ming Pao.
On April 14, 2022, at about 3.30pm, Hong Kong police were alerted to the robbery at a China Construction Bank (Asia) branch in Nathan Road in Kowloon.
The court heard that at the bank counter, Leong handed over a note that said: “We have gun. Put money into the bag quickly. If you don’t cooperate, we will shoot.”
The bank employee took out a marked bill from a device, which triggered an alert to the branch manager. During the robbery, Leong was said to have pointed the toy gun at the employee.
He fled the scene with around HK$14,000 (S$2,400) in cash, and was arrested at home around seven hours later.
He later confessed to having spent some of the money, including HK$7,500 on rental and HK$1,000 on a bag.
Further investigations by Hong Kong police revealed that Leong had also attempted to rob a Mannings pharmacy in Mong Kok’s Golden Plaza in July 2020, Ming Pao reported.
He had passed the cashier a note that read: “If you want your life, hand over the money quickly. If not, I will burn you to death with gasoline.”
Surveillance footage from the shop showed Leong taking out a lighter and a glass bottle filled with clear liquid during the attempted robbery. He later said the liquid was water.
The shop employee reprimanded Leong and stopped him from approaching the counter.
At that time, Leong could not be identified from the footage and he left no fingerprints on his note.
In his mitigation, his lawyer said the accused was having financial and health problems when he committed the crimes, and that the bank had managed to recover some of the stolen money.
In video testimony, Leong said he was born in Singapore and went to Hong Kong in 2007, HK01 reported.
If convicted of robbery, he may be jailed for life.
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