While all you lovely Coconauts were off enjoying your well-deserved winter breaks, we here at Coconuts Hong Kong were… doing the exact same thing! (Sorry not sorry.) But, seeing as one of our New Year’s Resolutions is to keep you guys as informed as possible, here’s a quick roundup of some of the biggest viral stories that took place during our time off:
Beauties Behaving Badly: Hong Kong women caught scoffing stolen seafood in Taiwanese market bathroom, smuggling oysters in handbag
Screenshot: Apple Daily
Three young women visiting Taiwan from Hong Kong apparently decided to spend their holiday in custody after they were caught nicking seafood from a famed fish market on Christmas Eve.
According to Apple Daily Taiwan, the “well dressed” and “beautiful” trio, Tsui Pui-yan, 25, Liu Ka-wan, 21, and Chong Nga-man, 22, visited the Addiction Aquatic Development market in Taipei on the evening of Dec. 24 and drunkenly stole six abalone, three peony shrimps, and eight oysters worth NT4,515 (HKD1,080) from a seafood buffet stall, which they shoved into their coats and bags.
Classy.
Unsurprisingly, the fishy fiends reportedly lacked the self restraint to wait until they got home to scarf down their ill-gotten gains, and made their way to one of the market’s toilet stalls to indulge in their stolen seafood. The looting ladies were later caught when a cleaner discovered the discarded packaging and price tags in the bathroom and alerted staff from the buffet stall, who stopped them and found uneaten oysters in one of their handbags.
The women were allegedly heard telling staff in both Mandarin and Cantonese that they didn’t have the money to pay for their illicit meal. The thieving trio was taken to court five days later, where they ‘fessed up and paid the shop owner in full, and were allowed to return to Hong Kong.
After the story broke, some readers accused Apple Daily of “misleading” readers and alleged that the women were actually “new Hongkongers” from mainland China. The publication later clarified that both Chong and Tsui are Hongkongers, but Liu (or “Liao”, to use the Mandarin pronunciation), is from mainland China.
Related articles:
Meals on Wheels: Women seen cramming live lobsters into suitcases on the MTR
Pervy Police: Male cop investigated after being caught snooping around female colleagues’ changing room
Screenshot: Google Maps
A young male police officer is under investigation after he reportedly crossed the thin blue line and wandered right into a female changing room in the New Territories North Regional Police Headquarters, under the guise of “looking for something”. (Would that be… a sense of decency?)
The officer, who is in his 20s, was supposed to be on duty at the station armoury last Friday when he was found inside a female changing room by two female officers, according to Oriental Daily. He was subsequently reported to superior officers, and apparently claimed he had not been feeling well and was “looking for something he’d dropped” in the female changing room whilst on his way to the male changing room.
It’s understood that the male and female changing rooms are on different floors, and the doors of all Hong Kong police stations’ female changing rooms can only be opened with a passcode.
A spokesperson for the Police Force confirmed the incident, reiterating it attached great importance to the conduct of officers.
Barrister Albert Luk told Apple Daily said charges such as loitering, outraging public decency, and disorder in public places would not be applicable in this case as a police station’s locker room is not considered as a public place. However, if it is proved that the officer had intended to take pictures of his female colleagues changing on his mobile phone, he could be charged with accessing a computer with criminal or dishonest intent.
Man poisoned after eating deadly “puffer fish sashimi” from fisherman “friend”
Hootie’s lesser known backing band, The Blowfish. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
On Jan. 1, a 51-year-old man was reportedly given a New Year’s gift by his friend, who had caught a lovely fish in the waters off Lamma Island. Unluckily for the 51-year-old, the fish was a puffer fish, which is one of the most poisonous vertebrates in the world.
Who needs enemies when you’ve got friends like this, eh?
The man, who was none the wiser, sliced the toxic fish up and ate it raw, sashimi-style, alone at home that evening. (On another note, is there anything sadder than this poor bloke getting poisoned on his own? You’d think his “mate” would have the decency to also eat some deadly dinner.)
The 51-year-old began suffering weakness and numbness in his limbs four hours later and was admitted to Caritas Medical Centre in Cheung Sha Wan the next day with suspected food poisoning, according to a government statement. He is reported to be in stable condition.
“Puffer fish” (or “blowfish”) refers to multiple species of fish within the Tetraodontidae family. While its meat is considered a delicacy in some countries, the majority of puffer fish contain tetrodotoxin, a highly potent neurotoxin.
In extreme cases, tetrodotoxin poisoning can lead to death.
In Japan, chefs must undergo a training course for roughly three years in order to be qualified to safely prepare and serve puffer fish.
According to the Centre for Health Protection (CHP), tetrodotoxin is “heat-stable” and cannot be destroyed by cooking, boiling, drying, or freezing. There is no known antidote or antitoxin. A spokesperson for the CHP said that the public should avoid purchasing and preparing puffer fish or unknown fish for consumption themselves.
Related articles:
Man poisoned after eating puffer fish purchased in Ngau Tau Kok
Hong Kong man, 59, hospitalised after friend cooks him puffer fish for lunch
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