Changing Lifestyles : Streets of Hong Kong Stage a Cops-and-Robbers Drama : Daring crime is fast on the rise in the British colony. And in a twist of fate, some officials are casting blame on the Chinese.

Four shots are fired--one in the air and three at police--as five gunmen drag an elderly security guard into the street, using him as a human shield. They commandeer a taxi for themselves and $1.5 million worth of merchandise they’ve just stolen from the Chow Tai Fook Jewelry Store.

Such scenes are increasingly familiar on the streets of Hong Kong, where the incidence of armed robbery increased 30% in 1991 from year-earlier levels, and jewelry store heists leaped 79%, according to police statistics.

The robbery at Chow Tai Fook’s was the third there in the last six months.

The experts list a number of factors contributing to the recent increase in armed robbery here--growing materialism, educational shortcomings and the sheer number of targets due to the colony’s prosperity.

But perhaps the most ironic factor, officials say, is an influx of both criminals and weapons from China.

Beijing used to blame various social evils in coastal Guangdong province on the nearness and allegedly evil influence of Hong Kong. To some extent, it still does.

But in the wake of the increase in armed robberies, the tables are turned. And the British colony’s police are turning to their Chinese counterparts for help in countering the trend.

Officials say that overall, Hong Kong remains one of the safest places in the world, and police statistics show that the number of crimes of all types in the colony increased by a marginal 0.4% in 1991 compared with 1990.

Still, the sharp increase in armed robberies has spurred a hot political debate among lawmakers, according to Rita Fan, convener of the legislature’s security panel. “Illegal firearms into Hong Kong are a shared problem between our government and the Chinese government. Our aim is to find a method to effectively reduce the inflow of firearms,” Fan said.

“Moreover, Hong Kong crime syndicates may be smuggling in illegal immigrants from China to commit crimes,” she added.

Two men captured after the latest robbery at Chow Tai Fook’s were illegal immigrants from the mainland.

Li Kwan Ha, Hong Kong’s police commissioner and head of its 26,502-man force, said in an interview with a local English-language newspaper that organizers of recent armed robberies in the colony are local criminals who import hired gunmen from Guangdong province.

During a two-day visit to Beijing last month, Li forwarded proposals to the Chinese authorities to “better enhance the exchange of intelligence” between the two governments, who have been communicating with one another for more than a decade.

Chinese authorities are expected to react to the proposals during a subsequent meeting late this month or early in May. But meanwhile, they have already pledged to strengthen existing liaison with Hong Kong to stem cross-border crime. China is to take control of Hong Kong in six years under an agreement with Britain.

Liu Wen, the head of China’s International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol, said Beijing is not aware of any link between organized crime elements in China and Hong Kong. Instead, Interpol reports indicate that small gangs in China, normally three to four people, are engaged in cross-border crimes, Liu said.

“There are very strong indications that a lot of the serious armed robberies here may have been executed by illegal immigrants from China who have been recruited by Hong Kong people to do the job. These illegal immigrants are willing to do it because their cut could financially set them for life,” said Anthony Singleton, Hong Kong’s chief inspector of the Anti-Illegal Immigrants Unit.

A total of 6,665 illegal immigrants from China have entered Hong Kong so far this year, the highest figure in the past 11 years, he said, adding that about 27% of those intercepted are repeat offenders.

The Hong Kong government’s previous policy on illegal immigrants was to repatriate them after their first offense but to jail them for up to 15 months for any subsequent offenses.

But this policy was quietly dropped in November, 1990, to relieve the overcrowding in the colony’s jails.

Moreover, increasing numbers of illegal immigrants from China have been found in possession of firearms, Singleton said.

“Chinese illegal immigrants were behind a lot of the serious robberies (in Hong Kong) which involved the use of Chinese-made AK-47s, hand grenades and automatic pistols,” he explained.

Singleton, who has had more contact with police in Guangdong province in recent years, commented: “I think what is happening in Hong Kong is not really in isolation. We’re getting problems down here, and China’s getting problems up there. It goes hand in hand. . . . Cooperation between Hong Kong and China is being strengthened all the time, and will continue to do so.”

Hong Kong witnessed nine serious armed robberies involving Chinese-made weapons last month, including the audacious raid on the Chow Tai Fook jewelry store located on one of the busiest pedestrian crossings in the world.

“Some of these goldsmith shops are run more like a supermarket. . . . But shop owners don’t want to change their premises because they can still make a profit,” said former Regional Commander for Hong Kong Island, Geoffrey Roper, who handled the case before retiring earlier this month.

High risk premises such as banks, jewelry stores and watch shops will be required to adopt minimum security measures if a proposal by the Hong Kong police is accepted by the British colonial government.

The measures include the installation of surveillance cameras and double-lock doors.

Some jewelry stores are responding to the wave of armed robberies by introducing stringent security measures now.

Larry Jewelry had a “man-trap” installed to deter would-be robbers. The “man-trap” is a double door which effectively encloses the shopper in a glass prison--once inside the store, one glass panel closes to block the shopper’s exit before a second glass panel admitting him to the jewelry counter is opened. The system is controlled by shop staff members.

“It was easier to make money before the doors were installed,” said shop clerk Tony Chan. “The double door deters shoppers because they’re not willing to go through the door if all they want to do is look around.”

At present, most jewelry stores leave their doors wide open during working hours, which invites people to commit crimes, police say.

New precautions or not, Harold Traver, a sociologist at the University of Hong Kong, said greater prosperity invariably means more opportunities for criminals.

“I think Hong Kong is going to have to learn to tolerate probably a hundred armed robberies a year for some time. I think that it’s just a matter of life in general,” Traver said.

Hong Kong’s Crime Spurt

Daring crimes are on the rise in Hong Kong. Some cast blame on illegal immigrants drafted into a life of crime and the easy flow of firearms across the border. Some statistics: Armed robberies: 1990: 422 1991: 547 Increase: 30% Armed robberies at jewelry shops 1990: 75 1991: 134 Increase: 79% Illegal immigrants arrested in connection with robbery using genuine firearms: 1990: 4 1991: 10 Increase: 150% Illegal immigrants arrested in connection with possession and use of firearms: 1990: 12 1991: 18 Increase: 50% Hand grenades seized: 1990: 3 1991: 7 Increase: 133% Source: Hong Kong Police Public Relations Branch