Ugandan police have arrested three suspects in connection with the robbery of about 20,000 US dollars from six Chinese working with a construction firm in Kampala, a police spokesman said Monday.

Semeo Nsubuga told reporters that the suspects had provided leads to the recovery of the money which was robbed on Feb. 15 at gunpoint at the office of the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation in Bugolobi, a Kampala suburb.

During the robbery, which took place in the evening and lasted about 10 minutes, three employees of the company sustained minor injuries.

He said the victims were followed and robbed of 7,000 dollars, 21.2 million Ugandan shillings (about 12,500 dollars), a digital camera worth 450 dollars, and two cell phones.

However, the Economic and Commercial Counselor's Office of the Chinese Embassy to Uganda told Xinhua they were robbed of 7,000 dollars, 23 million shillings (about 13,500 dollars), 2,000 Chinese yuan (about 280 dollars) and four cell phones on Feb. 14.

A Chinese businessman was shot dead by armed robbers in the presence of his wife and two other Chinese in December 2006 in Uganda.

During the robbery, the victims were robbed of two million shillings (about 1,160 dollars) that they were carrying in their car.

(Xinhua News Agency February 19, 2008)