A 40-year-old Kihei man was killed today in a 12:51 a.m. accident at the intersection of South Kihei Road and Uilani Street when his motorcycle rear-ended a 19-foot boat that was being towed by a pickup truck.

Maui police said the man was thrown from his 1999 Kawasaki Vulcan motorcycle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The man was not wearing a safety helmet, police said.

The pickup truck's driver, a 35-year-old man, was not injured.

The traffic death was Maui's fifth of the year, compared with three on this date in 2002.

Police probe Chinatown robbery

A 41-year-old man was arrested yesterday on suspicion of robbing a Chinatown merchant.

The owner of Rainbow Hawaii at 1149 Maunakea St. was in a downstairs storage area at 6:20 p.m. when a surveillence camera showed a man in the store opening the cash register. The owner confronted the suspect and prevented him from fleeing.

Police arrested the man on suspicion of second-degree robbery.