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Cop jailed after keeping lost LV wallet containing HK$60,000 cash
A 29-year-old cop was on Tuesday sentenced to nine months' imprisonment for theft after he kept for himself a lost LV wallet containing about HK$60,000 in cash at the airport police station.
Fung Yik-kwan was convicted of theft for stealing an LV wallet worth HK$7,000, containing about HK$56,000 cash, three credit cards, an ATM card, and an Octopus card, at the report center in the airport on February 13, 2019.
A citizen found the lost wallet in the airport, containing over HK$50,000 cash and the suspected owner's phone number. However, the citizen could not contact the owner at the time and brought the wallet to the report center in the airport.
Fung, who was on duty, retrieved the wallet without registering the item on record. The citizen then managed to contact the wallet's owner, who also went to the report center and tried to retrieve the item.
Yet the officers working the following shift failed to locate the item and asked Fung about the wallet's whereabouts, which unearthed that he hid the wallet underneath a fridge in the pantry.
When passing sentence, magistrate Pang Leung-ting at Shatin Magistrates' Courts said that Fung violated honesty. He continued that Fung was the only officer present at the scene but kept the wallet for himself, betraying the public's trust, the trust of the woman who handed over the wallet, and that of his fellow officers.
He added that it was Fung's dream to become a police officer, and the police believed Fung was a man of mission, responsibility, and honesty before letting him in. However, Fung took advantage of his authority and position to commit the crime.
The defense submitted 19 mitigation letters written by Fung's family members, saying he has a good character, is willing to help others, and will be separated from his wife and kids if he is jailed.
However, Pang asked why Fung didn't think of the consequences before committing the crime.
The defense also hoped Pang would focus on the value of the lost wallet and cash, not on the credit cards and identity documents within the wallet. But Pang said money is not the only measurement for deciding Fung's sentence.
Fung was at first jailed for 10 months and then saw his jail term reduced by a month to nine months imprisonment.
A citizen found the lost wallet in the airport, containing over HK$50,000 cash and the suspected owner's phone number. However, the citizen could not contact the owner at the time and brought the wallet to the report center in the airport.
Fung, who was on duty, retrieved the wallet without registering the item on record. The citizen then managed to contact the wallet's owner, who also went to the report center and tried to retrieve the item.
Yet the officers working the following shift failed to locate the item and asked Fung about the wallet's whereabouts, which unearthed that he hid the wallet underneath a fridge in the pantry.
When passing sentence, magistrate Pang Leung-ting at Shatin Magistrates' Courts said that Fung violated honesty. He continued that Fung was the only officer present at the scene but kept the wallet for himself, betraying the public's trust, the trust of the woman who handed over the wallet, and that of his fellow officers.
He added that it was Fung's dream to become a police officer, and the police believed Fung was a man of mission, responsibility, and honesty before letting him in. However, Fung took advantage of his authority and position to commit the crime.
The defense submitted 19 mitigation letters written by Fung's family members, saying he has a good character, is willing to help others, and will be separated from his wife and kids if he is jailed.
However, Pang asked why Fung didn't think of the consequences before committing the crime.
The defense also hoped Pang would focus on the value of the lost wallet and cash, not on the credit cards and identity documents within the wallet. But Pang said money is not the only measurement for deciding Fung's sentence.
Fung was at first jailed for 10 months and then saw his jail term reduced by a month to nine months imprisonment.
