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Two car thieves eluded police cars on their tail for 10km after they stole a black Toyota Alphard multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) worth more than HK$300,000 ($58,679) in Hong Kong early Thursday morning.

When cornered at a police road block, the thieves turned around and drove against traffic.

The car hit a taxi before it crashed on to a police van that was hot on its trail.

A police source told the South China Morning Post: 'Travelling against traffic, the car first collided with a taxi.

'It continued to drive for about 200m on the Connaught Road West flyover before crashing into a pursuing police van.

'It overturned, skidded for about 20m, crashed into railings and then came to a stop.

'After the collision, the police van slammed into the central divider, injuring four officers on board.'

The two car thieves tried to run away after the MPV flipped over.

Desperate, one of them ran across the flyover to the opposite lane.

DARING LEAP



Then, he leapt off the two-storey high flyover and fled.

The police source said: 'The escapee climbed over the anti-crash barrier and jumped off the flyover.

'It's a daring two-storey leap. He really ran for his life.'

While he got away, his partner-in-crime was not so lucky.

The suspect, 39, was detained as he tried to get out of the car.

He was believed to have been driving the car during the chase, Apple Daily Hong Kong reported.

He suffered injuries on his head, chest and knees.

The car, a seven-seater, was reported stolen after 2am.

It was fitted with an anti-theft system, which enables the car to be tracked using global positioning satellite (GPS) technology.

The MPV was parked on Caroline Hill Road in Causeway Bay when the system alerted the security company that the car was stolen at about 2.30am.

The 39-year-old driver of the car, whose surname is Yang, was alerted and he called the police.

GPS showed the car was parked outside City Plaza in Taikoo Shing.

A police van approached the car to investigate.

But the two men in the MPV drove off upon seeing the police van.

POLICE CHASE



Two police vehicles started to give chase.

Several other police vehicles then joined the chase as the MPV drove at high speed along Gloucester Road, Connaught Road Central and Connaught Road West.

As the car sped towards the Western Harbour Tunnel, police set up a road block at the entrance.

Seeing the road block, the driver turned around and drove against the traffic back to the Connaught Road West flyover.

The detained suspect and four injured police officers were taken to Queen Mary Hospital.

The suspect was in a stable condition and the four officers were discharged after treatment.

The stolen MPV was often parked at the road where it was stolen, said the police.

Police said MPVs like the Alphard had been a 'hot target' of car thieves in the past two years.

A police source said: 'Such stolen cars are smuggled into Asian countries or dismantled into parts, which are then sold to garages in Hong Kong and other countries.'

Detectives from Wan Chai district crime squad are investigating.

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