Robbers steal 12 rare turtles worth HK$1.4m in violent pre-dawn robbery

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Robbers steal 12 rare turtles worth HK$1.4m in violent pre-dawn robbery

PUBLISHED : Friday, 26 December, 2014, 5:09pm
UPDATED : Saturday, 27 December, 2014, 2:10am

Emily Tsang [email protected]

File photo of a Golden coin turtle saved from poacher traps in Hong Kong. Photo: David Wong

A gang of robbers stole 12 rare turtles worth a total of almost HK$1.5 million on the black market in a violent pre-dawn raid at a village house in the New Territories yesterday.

The four criminals, one wielding a knife, attacked the 63-year-old owner of the turtles after he was woken at 5am by barking dogs as the gang struck at the village house in Lau Fau Shan.

The man was keeping the critically endangered golden coin turtles as pets, but they are highly prized in Chinese medicine - they were traditionally the main ingredient in turtle jelly - and could be worth a total of more than HK$1.4 million.

A police spokeswoman said the case was being treated as a robbery and was being followed up by the Yuen Long crime squad.

The turtles' owner sustained a wound to his forehead in the scuffle and was also tied up during the raid.

A chicken leg was left near the house, in what police believe was an attempt to lure away the man's pet dogs.

The four robbers are described as male, aged between 30 and 40, and of medium build, with short hair. The spokeswoman said no arrests had been made so far.

The victim was bandaged at the scene but refused hospital treatment.

Also called Cora trifasciata or three-striped box turtle, the golden coin turtle is one of the most endangered turtle species in the world. It is classified as "critically endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature after being pushed to the edge of extinction by poachers.

The omnivorous reptiles are endemic to southern China and northern Vietnam, but it is thought Hong Kong is the only place left that they live in the wild.

In 2005, Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden in Tai Po stepped up security after a spate of thefts of the reptile, which gets its name from the distinctive bright yellow markings on its shell.