Engineer who stole HK$500,000 in belief Hong Kong cash spill was a ‘Christmas giveaway’ avoids jail sentence
But magistrate does not jail engineer who thought he was receiving Christmas giveaway, as defendant issues a humble apology
An electronics engineer who thought he was cashing in on a Christmas Eve giveaway when he picked up HK$500,000 from a pile of money that spilled onto one of Hong Kong's busiest thoroughfares was yesterday spared a jail sentence.
Sentencing So Kam-cheung to 240 hours of community service, Magistrate Jason Wan Siu-Ming said: "This could be the darkest, most unforgettable experience in So's 40 years of life." He added that a one-off moment of greed had cost So everything, including the hard work he had put in earlier in life.
So, 46, is the first defendant to avoid a jail sentence for stealing money in the incident. Two others have either been jailed or given a suspended sentence.
He earlier admitted one count of theft at Eastern Court last month for picking up HK$500,000 of the HK$15.23 million a G4S cash delivery van dropped on the westbound lane of Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, on December 24 last year.
Watch: People scramble for cash after van spills banknotes on busy Hong Kong street
In mitigation yesterday, So's lawyer Hectar Pun Hei SC said his client - who was asked to stop bowing to Wan in the previous hearing - would like to offer the court and the security firm yet another apology.
