Thieves stole research
LECTURER APPEALS FOR RETURN OF PRECIOUS HARD DRIVE
PRECIOUS photos and more than 10 years’ worth of work are missing after thieves raided a university lecturer’s home.
Dr Honglei Li was tending to her baby when the burglars crept in through an unlocked rear door.
They helped themselves to a number of items, including a laptop, three smartphones and Dr Li’s wallet.
But when after realising she had been burgled the new mum discovered her hard drive, which she had used to back-up more than 10 years worth of research, writing and family photos, was also missing.
And as police continue to hunt the thieves, Dr Li has begged them not to wipe her disk.
She said: “I just want my photos and my work back. I would be grateful if whoever has it could just keep my hard drive safe and don’t delete it. The other stuff can be replaced but this is irreplaceable.
“Thousands of documents have been stored on the hard drive, many of which are in Mandarin, and are of absolutely no use to whoever has taken this device.”
Dr Li, who is a senior lecturer in Computer and Information Sciences at Northumbria University was working on her laptop at her home, at Red Barns, near Newcastle’s Quayside, before the burglars struck, at around 11.50pm on Monday, October 16.
She left the computer to go to a bedroom after her nine-month-old son Emmanuel started crying.
“I went upstairs to check the baby and I heard a strange noise, but the wind was so strong that night I thought it was just the wind,” she explained. “I put the baby down and came downstairs. I didn’t realise what had happened at first.”
When Dr Li noticed her phones and laptop was missing she realised she had been burgled.
At first she hoped she had left her hard drive at work.
But after checking her office the devastating reality sunk in.
“I didn’t realise at first that all my work was gone,” she said. “I checked if my hard drive was there, but then I hoped I had left it in my office.
“All my recent research papers are on the hard drive and my unpublished research paper. There is also my writing, all my documents and all my records. I backed up all my work on that hard drive. It also contains my personal diary, some of my personal writing including poems I had written. And family photos going back to 2013, including pictures of my baby. They are really precious to me. I was devastated when I discovered all that was missing.”
Dr Li said she is also willing to offer a reward to anyone who is able to help police catch the thieves.
She added: “This has been a really difficult time for me and I want to encourage anyone who has information that may help the police to get in touch. There is ten years of work on there and I am prepared to offer a reward that may lead to the return of the hard drive and the successful conviction of those involved.”
The missing items are: two iPhones, one Google Phone, a Lenovo Laptop, one apple watch and a wallet along with the external Western Digital Hard Drive.
Northumbria Police are now appealing for witnesses.
Det Cons Jane Campey said: “I want to reiterate that this hard drive holds no value to the offenders but contains hundreds of documents that are vitally important to the lecturer.
“This is a busy area of the city and we believe there will have been people who saw the person or persons responsible for this burglary.
“Dr Li is absolutely devastated by what has happened and we want to do everything we can to see these stolen goods returned.”
Anyone who thinks they can help with the investigation, or who has information about those responsible should email 1302@northumbria.pnn.police.uk or call Northumbria Police on 101 ext 62536 quoting log 1454 16/10/17.