Posted at 9:45 a.m., Friday, April 27, 2001

Chinatown pool hall hit by armed robbers

Advertiser Staff

Four masked gunmen armed with shotguns raided a Chinatown pool hall this morning and bossed around employees, ripped off money from gaming machines and fired one shot inside the building before fleeing in a small car, police said.

The robbery happened at 2 a.m. at Bida Hi Hi Cue, 150 N. King St., suite 201, police said. The second-floor pool hall is directly across the Oahu Market and about a block away from the Chinatown police station, which is on the corner of Hotel and Maunakea streets.

According to police, four men, each holding shotguns and wearing dark ski masks, dark jackets and dark pants, entered the pool hall and ordered everyone down to the floor.

The robbers then forced a machine vendor to open the gaming machines and stole the money inside. Next, the robbers searched an office and stole money from the machine vendor.

Just before leaving, one of the gunmen shot a round into the ceiling. The robbers were seen leaving the scene in a small compact vehicle.

Police did not disclose how much money was taken during the robbery. A man, who refused to be identified at the pool hall, said that no one was hurt during the robbery and that the pool hall would re-open later today.

Audrey Chow, manager at the Yat Tung Chow Noodle Factory which is below the pool hall, hoped that police would increase their presence following the robbery.

She said the noodle factory had been burglarized twice in February and March and wondered why anyone would want to steal from their factory, saying, "there's not much to steal except for flour."