A LONG-DISTANCE bus driver was injured and at least 10 passengers were robbed of nearly 100,000 yuan (US$15,152) when the Shenzhen bus en route to Meizhou City in Guangdong Province was hijacked by armed robbers at Xingning on Thursday.
The driver was hit on the head by the armed robbers when he got out of the bus to help some travelers unload their luggage at Xingning, said one of the passengers, who gave her family name Lai.
A manager of Pingyuan Transport Co., identified as Liu Pinglin, confirmed that the bus belonged to his company. He (the bus driver) suffered injuries to the head and left hospital after receiving a few stitches, Liu said.
He refused to give further details of the hijacking. According to the Southern Metropolis Daily, the hijacking took place at about 1 a.m. Thursday.
Lai said there were a total of six hijackers, two of whom were armed with guns while the rest were carrying knives. After injuring the driver, the robbers got on the bus and threatened the passengers at gun point, ordering us to hand over our cash and valuables, said Lai, who said she was robbed off about 800 yuan.
Only passengers in the last row of seats escaped being robbed because it wasn t easy to reach them. There was too much luggages placed in the aisle, another passenger said. Most of the passengers were returning home for the Spring Festival. The hijackers fled after a few minutes.
The bus left Bao an Bus Terminal on Wednesday night and was scheduled to arrive at Meizhou early Thursday.
Police are investigating.
(SD News)
