An acting station sergeant has confessed to stealing HKD1.07 million in bail money from police headquarters and fleeing to Macau, local media reports.
The 43-year-old defendant, surnamed Cheung, pleaded guilty to one count of theft in District Court today, HK01 reports.
Cheung was put in charge of the safe at the Wan Chai police headquarters’ report room on April 17, when the actual station sergeant was on holiday. On May 2, the safe was emptied and CCTV footage showed Cheung leaving the station soon afterwards.
The defendant said that he immediately left for Macau after taking the money, before moving on to Zhuhai. He turned himself in to mainland authorities on Aug. 2 and was escorted back to Hong Kong. The court heard that Cheung, who had gambling and investment issues, owed five financial companies over HKD1 million, and was also HKD20,000 in debt to the Police Credit Union.
At the time of his arrest, Cheung reportedly said under police caution that he had gambled the cash away.
The sergeant lived at police quarters with his wife and 21-year-old daughter in Yau Tong, but his wife told reporters that her husband had “rarely been home” in the months before his disappearance. She added that she did not know whether her husband was in debt.
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