The operation of the killer-robber at the Belvedere Garden's Hang Seng Bank heist in 2001 lasted only less than 80 seconds and the man made off with HK$500,000 killing the Pakistani security guard Zafar Iqbal Khan, the Coroner's Court was told yesterday.

The inquest into the deaths of Khan and three other police constables found that the bank stick-up in Tsuen Wan on 5 December, 2001 might be deftly planned.

One of the bank's closed-circuit television video played back in the court showed that a man in red shirt and black hood walked into the bank at 12:10:32. The man whipped out his gun and held it with his left hand almost immediately after entering the bank.

Khan pointed his gun at the suspect at 12:10:38, and five seconds later he was seen lying on the floor.The video, however, couldn't record what the killer was doing in these five seconds.

The man, carrying a black bag, jumped over the bank counter at 12:10:44 to get the money from the drawers.

The man left the bank at 12:11:49 and the whole robbery was over in just one minute 20 seconds.

The bullets with which Khan was gunned down were the bullets of the gun used by constable Leung Shing-yan and who was killed in 2001 in Shek Wai Kok Estate and had his service revolver stolen.

The police, however, were clueless about the crime until last year when constable Tsang Kwok-hang was killed and Sin Kar-keung severely injured in a Tsim Sha Tsui shoot-out. Tsang was killed by Leung's revolver and the other constable Tsui Po-ko, allegedly the key suspect, was killed by Tsang. Leung was shot five times all on left side on top of his skull, eyebrow, hindbrain, shoulder and back chest.

Pathologist Lam Wai-man testified that the gunshot at top of Leung's skull might be the first shot.

The hole, spherical in shape, had made a star-shaped wound and damaged the coronal suture. That was the most fatal one, and people suffering from it could only survive for a few minutes.

Lam said it was possible for the killer to force Leung down on the ground with other weapons to make the shot, or the killer might be taller than Leung who was 171cm tall.

The shot at the eyebrow, made from a slanting direction created an oval-shape wound. The bullet had pierced through the right frontal lobeand the shot at the hindbrain also caused bone fracture inside the head.

The shot at the back chest, made before the one taken at left shoulder, had completely damaged the lower part of left lung. The bullet had pierced through the diaphragm, liver and hit the right chest cavity.

The bullet was found in Leung's right chest. Lam explained that this was because Leung's right chest was pressed against the floor, which blocked the bullet from coming out.

The shot at shoulder which damaged Leung's police number plate attached to his uniform, had left metal fragment under his armpit. The bullet had pierced through the left chest and hit his right atrium, but did not hurt the left lung.

Lam explained that the shot at the back chest had already damaged the left lung, indicating that shot was taken before taking another at the shoulder. But the shot at the back chest was made after Leung had slumped to the floor.

But he could not confirm whether the shots at the back chest and shoulder were made before those at the eyebrow and hindbrain.

The pathologist had also found many bruises on Leung's body including the neck, which could be the result of struggling with the killer and rubbing against his windbreaker made of hard material.

He said it was possible for the killer to search through Leung's body for the bullet speed loader and other belongings after he slumped to the floor, which made the body rub against the windbreaker, before turning the body to make other shots.

Today the court will hear the testimony of Khan's father and cousin, two bank customers, four bank staff members and a witness, who was inside the shopping mall located next to the bank, when the robbery took place.