Correctional officer convicted over prison TV theft case
HK01 · 4 SOURCES1 day ago5 MIN
Summary
A deputy correctional services assistant was convicted on Friday of burglary and removing unauthorized items from prison after four televisions were taken from a storeroom at Tung Tau Correctional Institution and moved to staff quarters. Two senior correctional services assistants were acquitted, with the court finding insufficient proof that one knew about the televisions and that the other necessarily saw them. Acting District Judge Qu Lai-man adjourned sentencing to January 22 next year for mitigation and sentence, and ordered a background report while the convicted defendant remains in custody.
Key Points
- The three defendants were Wu Hon-kit (胡漢傑), 49, a deputy correctional services assistant, and senior correctional services assistants Wu Yue-fai (胡裕輝), 52, and Man Wai-kit (文偉傑), 49.
- Prosecutors alleged that on March 15, 2024, four televisions were stolen from Storeroom No. 3 of the canteen in the institution’s annex building at 70 Tung Tau Wan Road, Stanley.
- Wu Hon-kit and Man Wai-kit faced a burglary charge, while Wu Hon-kit and Wu Yue-fai were charged with removing unauthorized items from prison; Wu Yue-fai also faced handling stolen goods.
- The judge said authorization was required to remove items from prison, and neither the supplies officer nor the superintendent had approved taking the televisions away.
- Evidence at trial included inmate testimony that they were told to move boxed items and black-bagged “rubbish”, while the convicted defendant claimed the bags were used to keep food waste off the televisions.
Why It Matters
The ruling underlines that prison property cannot be removed informally, even by staff who say they believed approval had been given. For Hong Kong readers, the case also raises concerns about supervision, record-keeping and the use of inmates in internal logistics inside correctional facilities.