A Filipino domestic helper has been put on a good-behaviour bond for keeping HK$15 in change after buying pork for her boss last month.
One recruitment agency said the case should serve as a warning to other helpers to maintain honesty.
Magistrate Symon Wong Yu-wing dismissed the theft charge against Cherry Obienda Sudaria, 41, after the prosecution offered no evidence, but bound her over to keep the peace for a year.
The court heard that Sudaria's employer gave her a HK$50 note to buy pork on April 29. She returned with the meat but kept the change. Suspicious about the small size of the piece, her employer went to the butcher, who said the price was HK$35.
Closed-circuit television footage showed the butcher had given change to Sudaria after the purchase, but it was not clear how much. The case was reported to police and the maid admitted the offence under caution.
A maid agency said the case served as a warning to other helpers. "Stealing HK$15 might also warrant a jail term," said Teresa Liu Tsui-lan, managing director of the Technic Employment Service Centre. "However trivial the amount, violating the law is violating the law."