Pickpocket victim from Hong Kong

This is my first post

I am a Hong Kong citizen but now living in New Zealand,I recently visited Hong Kong for four weeks and on the second week I was pickpocketed at Hung Hom Railway Station at where the Taxis go,beware that these pickpockets usually target phones or wallets even Iphones.If you do report it to the Police all they will do is give you a report if you need to deactivate the sim card.Regarding Pickpockets,they're now a growing problem in the Hong Kong railway network.Also the pickpockets are now both genders and they can be people from the Mainland as well.I have heard of stories as Pickpockets disguised as tourists from friends who live in Hong Kong,one of them told me some of them hit you on purpose and then by the time they say 'sorry' you realise they have taken something

So Hong Kong is no different from anywhere else in the world really. No big surprise is it?

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Meh, at least you're not in China. You can find videos on YouTube of thieves using chopsticks to fish stuff out of people's pockets. All the people walking the other way see what the guy's trying to do but nobody says anything.

Mr_Alex, sorry to hear about you being pickpocketed, but welcome to Flyertalk! It is good to share this information, thanks.

another thing to consider,the shenzhen border is due to be pulled down and its also a agenda of the government in China which means pickpocketing willbe much worse

Can you elaborate? Link?

Unfortunately, the flood of people from mainland China has meant that HK is no longer as safe as it once was... a sad fact, but true.

Unfortunately, the flood of people from mainland China has meant that HK is no longer as safe as it once was... a sad fact, but true.

No, no, no, I've got nothing to do with that, wasn't me!

On the subject, Hong Kong's got its fair share of pickpockets but it's still one of the safest places around generally speaking.

Sorry? Apologies in advance but that post really says a lot about what you know about Hong Kong these days. There is absolutely no plan whatsoever to get rid of that border anytime soon.

Well, I can't entirely disagree unfortunately. But I think one has to put it into perspective. There's still enough local "talent" as well and - years ago - there was a South American (yes, South American) gang that specialised in pickpocketing in tourist areas and it took Hong Kong's finest months to get hold of them. To just blame "people from the mainland" is a bit too easy but again, they are certainly part of the program.

The main problem is that there's a huge and growing wealth gap in Hong Kong and those at the lower strata of society are finding it harder to make ends meet; and naturally some of them will cross the line to do criminal stuff.

That's not entirely accurate. There has always been a very large gap in HK. A lot of mainland money is coming in which in turn, attracts these types of people from surrounding areas and abroad.

Quite a reversal in the perception of "mainlander".

What exactly do you mean?

At the risk of offending those of Chinese (HK excluded) descent, the general view of mainlanders is not favourable, mostly as a result of bad apples that reflect poorly on the whole.

How so? It means NOTHING to me how much money these mainland Chinese have; as long as they cannot follow simple rules of common courtesy or politeness, the perception will not change. The issue of money may mean a lot to the political or business groups, but to the locals who have to deal with them, it's quite unpleasant.

Local newspapers have well reported the increased crime gangs from the mainland invading HK, most recently regarding the theft of luxury vehicles (this has always bemused me - HK and the PRC drive on different sides of the road!).