1 of 2 suspects accused of snatching Hong Kong boy, 3, in mall brought to scene

One of two women accused of stuffing a three-year-old boy into a suitcase after snatching him in a Hong Kong shopping centre for a ransom of US$660,000 in cryptocurrency has been taken to the alleged crime scene for a police re-enactment.

Dozens of uniformed and plain-clothes officers were in position inside and outside Tseung Kwan O Plaza shopping centre before the suspect was driven there in an unmarked police car shortly after 11.30am on Friday.

The boy was rescued at about 5.25am on Thursday, around 12 hours after the abduction, when officers from the organised crime and triad bureau broke into a flat at The Wings private housing estate in Tseung Kwan O. The pair were arrested in the flat.

At around 11.35am on Friday, officers took a black suitcase and a stroller from one of their cars outside the mall.

Investigators revealed on Thursday that the suspects had prepared a suitcase and a stroller to transport the victim after snatching him inside the shopping centre on Wednesday afternoon.

One hooded suspect, handcuffed to a chain around her waist, was escorted out the black seven-seater at around 11.45am. She was dressed in a grey T-shirt, black shorts and flip-flops.

She was surrounded by officers and briefed before being taken into the mall. The suspect was escorted to a spot outside a shop where a stuffed toy was shown to her.

She was taken outside and brought to the nearby Tong Chun Street, where a stroller was used during the videotaped reconstruction. She was then brought back to the seven-seater around midday.

At around 12.30pm, the woman was driven to Tong Ming Street Park, where she was escorted out of the car and pushed a stroller with the stuffed toy inside.

The handcuffed suspect, with one arm held by a plain-clothes woman officer, pushed the stroller for a distance into a corner of the park. An officer there took notes during a conversation between his colleagues and the suspect.

Dozens of officers surrounded the suspect while one plain-clothes officer carried a suitcase. The suspect was driven away from the park before 1pm.

According to police, one suspect snatched the boy while he was playing with his elder sister outside a shop in the mall at 4.30pm. The captor gave the sister a ransom note, which also warned the family not to call police.

The Post learned that the family was told to pay 660,000 Tether digital coins worth more than HK$5.1 million to have the boy released.

Describing the kidnap plot as “premeditated”, Chief Superintendent Kwan King-pan revealed on Thursday that one of the suspects took away the boy by force and put him in a stroller nearby before pushing him to a quiet place such as a park.

He said the other suspect carried a suitcase to meet her and the boy was then placed inside and taken to the home of one of the suspects. After identifying the suspects and the flat, officers from the bureau carried out a raid at The Wings.

Kwan said the boy was taken to hospital for a medical examination that showed he did not suffer any injuries.

Police said no ransom was paid.

The two women, both aged 38, were detained on suspicion of kidnapping. One suspect is a visitor from mainland China while the other holds a Hong Kong identity card.

The force said the two suspects did not know the boy’s family and officers were still investigating why they targeted him.

In Hong Kong, abduction is punishable by up to life in prison.

Officers from the bureau are investigating the case.