HONG KONG: A burglar who climbed up the drainpipe of a 20-storey Hong Kong building stole HK$450,000 (1.9 million baht) in cash and valuables from the home of a senior executive at an American investment bank before shimmying back down the way he came, a police source said on Thursday.
Officers believed the break-in took place sometime after the 34-year-old wife of the banker left the 17th-floor flat at Conway Mansion in Mid-Levels around 6.30pm (5.30pm Thailand time) on Wednesday.
The burglary came to light around 9.15pm, when the couple returned home to find their closet had been ransacked.
"An initial investigation showed some jewellery with an estimated value of HK$250,000 was stolen, along with HK$200,000 in local and foreign currency," police said in the statement.
Officers also found a hole in the chain link fence between the building and the adjacent hillside.
The source said the burglar was believed to have "entered the housing estate through the opening in the chain link fence, scaled the building via the drainpipe and climbed into the victim's flat through an unlocked window".
He added the burglar was likely to have left by the same route. Officers scoured the area, but no arrest was made.
Detectives from the Central criminal investigation unit are handling the case, and officers have checked surveillance camera footage in the area to gather evidence.
In the first six months of this year, police handled 741 burglary reports involving losses of HK$49.7 million, 36 per cent fewer cases than the 1,156 recorded in the same period last year.