Three men who stole 600 toilet paper rolls from a supermarket as fears of virus-induced supply shortages gripped the city last year have been sentenced to 40 months in jail.
Appearing in court Thursday, they pleaded guilty to the charges relating to the robbery, HK01 reported.
Last February, the masked trio made off with the toiletries outside a Wellcome store in Mong Kok during a heist at daybreak. Around 6am on Feb. 17, one man pointed a knife at a delivery worker unloading the 50 toilet paper packs while the other two speedily crammed the Virjoy rolls onto trolleys and fled.
Later that day, police found the toilet rolls at a guesthouse nearby.
The theft came in the early days of Hong Kong’s COVID-19 epidemic, when much was still unknown about a novel coronavirus had infected tens of thousands in mainland China.
At the time, rumors spread that widespread factory shutdowns north of the border would cause shortages in the city, causing many to panic-buy toilet paper, rice and other essentials.
The stolen toilet paper was worth just HK$1,695 (US$220). But Magistrate David Cheung said the relatively low value of stolen goods did not lighten the severity of the crime, which took place at a time of heightened anxiety as the public rushed to stock up on supplies amid the growing epidemic.
