KIM KARDASHIAN TO TESTIFY IN COURT ABOUT PARIS ARMED ROBBERY BY GRANDPA GANG

PARIS, May 13 (Bernama-dpa) -- Kim Kardashian was due to testify in a Paris court on Tuesday about the 2016 assault against her and theft of jewellery worth millions by several men posing as police, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.

Court officials said they expected a throng of media to gather for the 44-year-old celebrity's arrival at the Palace of Justice, after she flew specially from the United States for the hearing.

Kardashian, who had come to attend fashion shows in Paris nine years ago, was attacked on the night between October 2 and 3, 2016, at an exclusive hotel in the French capital's chic 8th district.

Five robbers disguised as police officers appeared outside the building. Two of them overpowered the doorman and stormed into Kardashian's room wearing masks and holding a gun.

The reality TV star and entrepreneur was threatened with the weapon, gagged, and bound with adhesive tape before the assailants made off with an estimated €9 million (US$10 million) in jewellery.

Kardashian was physically unharmed and able to untie herself and raise the alarm.

Since the end of April, nine men and one woman have been on trial in Paris for the attack.

The defendants, whose average age is around 60, have been described by the French press as the "grandpa gang."

They are said to have received details of Kardashian's stay in Paris from the co-defendant brother of a chauffeur who worked for the US star during her visits to the city.

The stolen valuables were not retrieved, having likely been sold for cash in Antwerp, according to investigators. The trial began at the end of April and is due to run until May 23.

Kardashian rose to fame through the long-running TV show Keeping Up with the Kardashians and has since built a global brand spanning fashion, beauty, and social media.

-- BERNAMA-dpa