HK$4.2 million in cash and valuables stolen from finance magnate Akihiro Nagahara’s luxury home on The Peak
- Break-in comes soon after 13-hour police anti-burglary operation
- Expensive residential area has been prime target for burglars in recent weeks
A total of HK$4.2 million (US$535,000) in cash and valuables was stolen from the luxury home of consumer finance magnate Akihiro Nagahara on The Peak on Sunday, just hours after a 13-hour police anti-burglary operation in the area.
Officers are searching for two or more suspects who raided the Barker Road house while Nagahara, 78, and his family were out. Nagahara is the chief executive and managing director of United Asia Finance, a Hong Kong-based microlender.
The latest break-in came to light at about 9pm on Sunday when Nagahara returned home and found the second-floor bedroom had been ransacked and a safe had been prised open.
“Initial investigation showed burglars climbed into the front yard of the house by scaling its surrounding wall from a nearby hillside,” a police source said.
“They climbed into the second-floor bedroom by forcing open a window and broke open the safe before fleeing with nine watches worth HK$3.5 million along with HK$700,000 in local and foreign currency.”
The insider said he believed the burglars struck some time between noon and 9pm on Sunday, when Nagahara and his family were not at home.
He added that police were looking for two Chinese men, who were caught on surveillance footage. The suspects are thought to be between 20 and 30 and about 1.65 metres tall. No arrests have been made.
Records showed the house was bought by a company, of which Nagahara is the director, for HK$178 million in 2008.
Hours before the break-in, between 3pm on Saturday and 4am on Sunday, police mounted an anti-burglary operation at The Peak, Aberdeen and Stanley. A government helicopter and marine police launches were also deployed. No arrests were made.
The operation followed a series of break-ins and attempted burglaries on The Peak over the past three weeks.
Burglars broke into Dee Poon’s flat during the Lunar New Year, when she was not in the city. The case was reported to police on February 10.
On February 15, a luxury flat at Hillsborough Court housing estate on Old Peak Road was burgled and 6,000 yuan (US$885) taken, along with a laptop computer.
On January 31, three men attempted to force open a roof door at a house in Kellett Villas on Mount Kellett Road. They fled after being spotted by the occupant. Just a day before that, signs of forced entry were found at another house along the same road, though no valuables were taken.
Police figures show there were 1,575 reports of burglaries across the city last year, down 15.9 per cent from 1,872 in 2017.
