Approximately 20 masked men robbed a supermarket in Beijing's suburban Shunyi District at 2:00 AM on November 28, injuring one shop assistant and stealing 440,000 yuan (US$59,500) in goods as well as 2,000 yuan in cash. Local police are investigating the case.

The supermarket in Gangshan Village, Tianzhu Town, was littered with empty boxes after the robbery yesterday morning. The intruders used knives, sticks, and pickaxes to smash the glass on three freezers and steal more than 400 cartons of cigarettes, bottles of alcohol, home appliances and shampoos, according to the witnesses.

Zhang Shaochun, a staff member at the supermarket, said he warned three female assistants to call the police when he heard someone prying at the door. "The robbers broke in from the folding door in less than one minute and shouted at me to squat down or they'd beat me to death," said Zhang.

The robbers grabbed his mobile phone and 50 yuan. The three women left the supermarket after calling the police, but they were intercepted by some of the thieves after walking just 10 meters, said Li Haiyan, one of the assistants. The robbers looted their dorm, taking away their mobile phones and chargers.

A local grocery owner surnamed Tian witnessed the robbery from his neighboring shop, five meters away from the supermarket. "They wore woven masks, speaking in Henan and Sichuan accents," the food shop owner said. Tian said he was discovered by the gang, who then smashed five of his shop windows and threatened him. "They said they'd crush my home if I intervened," said Tian.

Covering 200 square meters, the four-year-old supermarket represented an investment of 600,000 yuan. According to local authorities, there was police van near the supermarket from about midnight to 1:00 AM patrolling the surrounding areas. "We thought it was a fight when receiving the alarm call," said a local cop. When they found it was a robbery, two more vans rushed to the scene. A police car collided with a wall while chasing the suspects on the road crammed with piles of bricks and tiles.

The investigation is ongoing, Beijing News reported.

(China.org.cn by Wu Jin, November 29, 2007)