Cleaner pleads guilty over HK$6,500 roast-meat shop theft
On.cc · 2 SOURCESabout 3 hours ago3 MIN
Summary
A 38-year-old cleaner admitted at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts on September 3 to stealing HK$6,500 from Ho Wan Roast Meat Restaurant in Shau Kei Wan on March 22, 2024. The court adjourned the case to September 18 for sentencing and ordered that he be remanded in custody in the meantime.
Key Points
- Defendant Yip Chun-man (葉俊文), 38, who reported his occupation as a cleaner, pleaded guilty to one count of theft.
- The charge said he stole HK$6,500 at Ho Wan Roast Meat Restaurant, ground floor, 21 Kam Wa Street, Shau Kei Wan, on March 22, 2024.
- The shop owner had placed HK$6,000 in a metal cabinet near the entrance and another HK$500 in small notes in a wooden box nearby.
- CCTV footage showed the defendant entering at about 4pm, taking notes from the wooden box three times, then opening the metal cabinet and fleeing with a stack of HK$500 notes.
- He was arrested on April 23, 2024 and in a cautioned video interview, accompanied by a social worker, remained silent or said he could not remember the incident.
Why It Matters
The guilty plea brings movement in a case that, according to the reports, was prosecuted more than two years after the theft was reported. Sentencing on September 18 will determine the penalty after the court ordered the defendant to stay in custody pending that hearing.