Engineer denies stealing HK$500,000 spilled on Hong Kong road

[M0TAR0]

Engineer denies stealing HK$500,000 spilled on Hong Kong road, court hears

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 14 April, 2015, 3:33pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 14 April, 2015, 8:22pm

Chris Lau [email protected]

So Kam-cheung avoids the media at Eastern Court. Photo: David Wong

An engineer accused of scooping up HK$500,000 from a Wan Chai thoroughfare on Christmas Eve has pleaded not guilty to one count of theft.

So Kam-cheung, 46, denied stealing the wads of notes from the westbound lane of Gloucester Road near Stewart Road, Eastern Court heard yesterday.

He had no legal representative yesterday, just like in his last court appearance, when he was told to approach the court’s duty lawyer service.

That service charges a fixed sum of HK$500 regardless of how long a trial lasts, but is limited to cases heard in the magistrates’ courts only.

“I could not pass the means test [for the service],” So told Principal Magistrate Bina Chainrai when asked why he was appearing unrepresented in court again.

At the last hearing, on March 31, So told Chainrai he had hired a private lawyer, but was left to show up in court alone after the lawyer later decided not to handle his case.

The defendant indicated this time that he wished to be represented by a private lawyer.

Chainrai adjourned the case for a week for So to find a lawyer. The next hearing is on April 21.

The magistrate warned So before letting him go: “The charge you face is very serious and, if convicted, you are looking at a term of imprisonment.”

A person convicted of theft faces up to 10 years in jail.

So is the third person to face prosecution over the Christmas Eve cash grab.

The court heard that the money So allegedly stole belonged to G4S Cash Solutions.

On December 24, a courier van operated by the cash delivery company spilled three cash boxes, totalling HK$52.5 million, onto Gloucester Road around lunchtime.

A total of HK$15.23 million had gone missing by the time police arrived.