HONG KONG: Raj Sharma, 21, a Nepali man, who stole six packets of rice from a supermarket in Hong Kong with another man has been jailed for two months.
He admitted to stealing the rice “out of greed” in front of West Kowloon Court after a security guard caught him carrying two packets out of Aeon Store in Whampoa last Friday.
But Sharma told investigators it was not his idea to commit the theft, and that he was “invited” to take part and deliver the items to an unknown man at a park on Temple Street in Kowloon, in exchange for food and money, SCMP reported.
His Bangladeshi co-defendant, Riyad Hossain, 33, who was accused of stealing the four remaining packets of rice, has asked for more time to seek legal advice after prosecutors linked him to four other cases of theft at the same store, between February 23 and March 17.
They were jointly charged with one count of theft, alleging that they stole six packets of rice, valued at HK$455.4 (US$58), from Aeon Store in Whampoa Garden at about 6 pm on March 27.
Hossain faces four additional counts of theft, for allegedly stealing another 10 packets of rice, four cans of milk powder, and a backpack on four other occasions. Aeon Stores (Hong Kong) Company was said to have suffered a total loss of HK$2,296.8 from these thefts.
Sharma had no prior convictions before he pleaded guilty on Monday.
In mitigation, his defense lawyer revealed that he was a torture claimant living on subsidies from a non-government organization, the International Social Service since he arrived in the city from Nepal last year.
But Principal Magistrate Peter Law Tak-Chuen observed that Sharma had been “acting in concert” with another party, which made his crime very serious even if he did not initiate the theft.
So the magistrate adopted a starting point of a sentence at three months, before reducing it by one-third to credit the guilty plea.
Meanwhile, he gave Hossain six more weeks to consult legal advice and gather documents, and scheduled the case to return on May 11.
But Hossain was expected to return to court on April 6 to renew his bail application, after Law rejected his first bid on Monday.
Theft carries a maximum sentence of 10 years upon conviction in Hong Kong.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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