Hong Kong police arrest 2 teenage boys for allegedly trying to steal backpack from park-goer

“The victim held onto the rucksack and put up a struggle, but the suspects managed to grab it and fled on foot,” a police spokeswoman said.

She said the backpack was somehow dropped on the ground while the man was chasing them.

“As the victim picked up his rucksack and tried to continue the pursuit, one of the robbers threatened him with a wooden rod,” she added.

The victim then called police.

Police said the man was unhurt and no belongings were stolen in the incident.

Officers combed the area and later arrested the two boys of South Asian descent on Wai Ching Street – about 200 metres (656 feet) away from the crime scene.

HK$100,000 in cash, 18 bottles of spirits stolen from Hong Kong restaurant

One of the suspects has a Hong Kong identity card, while the other is a holder of a recognisance form, a temporary identification document that allows bearers to stay in the city.

Police are treating the case as an attempted theft. Detectives from the Yau Tsim criminal investigation unit are handling it.

The number of youngsters, aged between 10 and 15, arrested for various crimes rose by 5.1 per cent to 1,035 last year from 985 in 2022, according to police figures.

Last year, police handled 23,135 reports of theft across the city, an increase of 26.7 per cent from 18,256 cases logged in 2022.