Three held over HK$70,000 Jellycat claw shop theft
SCMP · 1 SOURCESabout 3 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Hong Kong police said on Friday they had arrested three local men over a break-in at an unstaffed claw machine shop in Tai Wai, where nearly 100 plush toys were stolen on September 17. Officers said the stolen items, including popular Jellycat dolls, were worth about HK$70,000, and part of the haul has since been recovered from other claw machine shops in Sha Tin district
Key Points
- Police said they received a report in the early hours of September 17 that two thieves had broken into an unstaffed claw machine shop in Tai Wai
- Inspector Chan Wai-chi of the Sha Tin district anti-triad section said the suspects used a crowbar to pry open two machines and stole nearly 100 plush toys
- The stolen toys were valued at around HK$70,000, while the shop owner later offered a HK$100,000 reward on social media to help catch the thieves
- Police said the thieves fled by car and transferred the stolen goods to two other vehicles to make the investigation more difficult
- Using surveillance footage, officers identified three local men aged 28 to 33 in Sha Tin and arrested them on suspicion of theft and handling stolen goods
Why It Matters
The case points to the security risks facing unstaffed claw machine shops, especially when high-demand collectibles can be resold quickly. Police said the investigation is continuing and further arrests have not been ruled out, while officers urged operators to install high-resolution cameras and anti-theft alarms