By Tim Binnall
A bizarre video out of Hong Kong shows an enterprising thief steal a purse from a tenth-story apartment by way of a long pole with a hook attached to the end of it. The very strange caper, captured on film by a home security camera, reportedly occurred in the neighborhood of Sham Shui Po on Sunday. In the wild video, the masked ne'er-do-well can be seen perched atop some scaffolding that had been set up outside the tenth-story apartment. Showing remarkable dedication and patience, the thief then slowly extends a lengthy bamboo pole with a hook attached to it into the residence towards a purse that is sitting on a couch.
In less than a minute, the burglar managed to snag the handbag and quickly pull the homemade contraption and its target back towards him on the scaffolding. Amazingly, the theft was nearly foiled when the woman who lives in the apartment caught sight of what was happening and rushed over to the window screaming "robbery," but the miscreant was able to escape the scene with the ill-gotten purse which contained around $150 and a variety of bank cards. Authorities in Hong Kong are now on the hunt for the thief and one hopes that they can catch the crook as easily as he managed to pull of the odd burglary.