Last Week in Viral News

Mar 5, Sat: In To Kwa Wan, a man gets on his knees and begs a woman who appears to be his girlfriend to lend him money, but she repeatedly turns him down. At one point she turns to leave, but the man steps forward and grabs her phone. The woman orders him to give the phone back, telling passers-by to call the police. The man slams the handset to the ground, sending its battery and cover flying, before storming off and leaving the woman to pick up the pieces. Police have classified the case as criminal damage.

Mar 6, Sun: In the afternoon, two men in their 50s holding chainsaws break into a farm in Shing Ping Village in Fanling and fell 27 agarwood incense trees worth $700,000 and potentially worth several million dollars when treated. A worker at the farm discovers them and calls the police, who arrest the pair at the scene. They suspect that the incident was related to a rental dispute.

Mar 7, Mon: A grandmother becomes the victim of a phone scam, in which a con man convinces her to deliver a $150,000 “ransom” to free her grandson. She goes to Kowloon City to deliver the money. But sensing that something is off, the woman’s domestic helper follows the old lady. Just as the grandmother is about to hand over the cash, the helper bursts out of hiding and shouts at the con man, who flees.

Mar 8, Tue: A Facebook user uploads a video which goes viral. It is a dashcam video of a woman standing in an empty parking lot in Yuen Long, in an apparent attempt to save it for an incoming vehicle. The man who posted the video tries to drive into the parking space, but the woman stands in his way, waving wildly and refusing to move. She smacks the car’s hood and insists that there is a car coming. The driver gets out of the car and shouts obscenities at the woman, before calling the police for help. Opinions are split online, with some netizens accusing the woman of being unreasonable, and others praising her for her resilience in spite of the man’s vulgarities.

Mar 9, Wed: Four men aged between 21 and 32 appear in court, charged with breaking into a Tin Shui Wai flat while disguised in high school uniforms. The prosecution reveals that police found a list of some 500 residential addresses across the territory on one of their phones. Entries on the list were annotated with remarks such as “broken into,” “people at home” and “ran for our lives.” The prosecution says that 86 of the 500 units had been broken into, and that an accomplice is still on the run.

Mar 10, Thu: At 3pm, a passer-by walking past a Yuen Long village house observes what appears to be a dog hide hanging from the balcony. Concerned that the owner of the house is sunning a freshly skinned hide, he calls the police. Initial investigations suggest the fur is a decoration, but concern groups insist that the hide is removed for testing. The police take two women away for questioning, along with the hide.