German trader fined in Hong Kong court for drunk-stealing video camera gear
Court hears that trader and part-time student later said sorry for taking expensive equipment
A drunk German trader who walked away with camera equipment worth HK$700,000 from a race-walking competition hours before it began was hit with a HK$2,000 fine yesterday.
Sentencing Niklas Segner – who stole a Canon lens, a Sony video camera and a tripod – Eastern Court magistrate Abu Bakar bin Wahab accepted that the 23-year-old was under the influence of alcohol when he committed the offence.
Segner, who is in Hong Kong on a training visa, yesterday pleaded guilty to one count of theft for pilfering items belonging to video production company Cinevision Top Choice on September 13.
The court heard that the production company had supplied the equipment to a cameraman from iCable at the time of the offence. Cheung Wai-ming, the cameraman, had set up the equipment in Central on the previous day.
But when he returned in the small hours of the following day, ahead of the start of the MTR’s race-walking event, he noticed that the equipment had gone. He reported the theft to police, who later arrested the defendant.
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In mitigation, defence counsel Warren Louis Tang said his client was remorseful after the incident, and contacted Cinevision at the first available opportunity.