Jobless man barged into Hong Kong flat, grabbed meat cleaver and stole victims wallet out of m

An unemployed man on Monday admitted he broke into an unlocked flat in Hong Kong and robbed a 67-year-old man at knifepoint out of momentary greed for money to buy food.

Ngo The Manh, 42, pleaded guilty to robbery on the first day of his trial in the High Court.

The defendant, who is Vietnamese, had managed to evade officers who chased him but he surrendered himself at a police station just hours after the robbery in Sham Shui Po on May 11, 2017.

The High Court heard the victim, Cheung Kam-hung, was resting in bed in his fourth-floor flat in a tenement building at 6.50pm when Ngo barged through the unlocked back door and threatened him with a meat cleaver he found in the kitchen.

Out of fear, Cheung followed Ngo’s instructions to stay put while the defendant took his wallet. The victim kept quiet until after he had unlocked his front door and let the intruder out. He then shouted “robbery” as soon as the man stepped outside his flat.

Cheung called police as Ngo fled the scene.

Inside his wallet was HK$300 (US$38), 200 yuan (US$30), an ATM card, a Hong Kong identity card, a driving licence, a senior citizen card and a home visit permit, a document residents use to travel to mainland China.

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As police gave chase, Ngo grabbed a bicycle from a rider at the junction of Kansu Street and Reclamation Street in Yau Ma Tei but abandoned it when he spotted a taxi.

Ngo’s appearance, with the cleaver still in hand, scared the taxi passenger away as he jumped in and asked the cabby to drive on. The driver also lent his phone to Ngo so he could call his girlfriend and other friends when they reached Yuen Long.

Ngo turned himself in to Sham Shui Po Police Station at 11.55pm.

“Out of momentary greed, I stole money to buy food,” he told an officer.

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He later admitted he had used the cash on food and transport, and revealed he had surrendered himself to police after spending all of the money and seeing his friends.

Deputy High Court judge Amanda Woodcock will hear mitigation and sentence Ngo on Tuesday.

A separate charge of robbery, relating to the stolen bike, was left on court file.

Robbery carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Jobless man pleads guilty to robbing 67-year-old

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