Mainlander who raided US tycoon’s Hong Kong home stole noodles from village house a year earlier, court told
Construction worker arrested for stealing billionaire Jim Thompson’s Gold Bauhinia Star medals is denied bail
A mainland construction worker went from stealing instant noodles to pilfering Gold Bauhinia Star medals from a US billionaire in the space of 12 months, a court heard on Thursday.
Fu Yingwu, 26, was arrested on Monday for allegedly burgling the Deep Water Bay home of Jim Thompson. He failed in his application for bail in Eastern Court.
The two-way permit holder, who recently stayed at the Hong Kong Harbour Hotel in Aberdeen, was not required to offer a plea on two counts of burglary.
Prosecutor Brian Lai requested more time for police to review CCTV footage and conduct fingerprint and DNA comparisons. He also explained that investigators needed to wait for one house owner in the block to return from the United States on October 3.
Fu, from Guizhou province, was accused of stealing 28 items from the luxury Manderly Garden estate in Deep Water Bay Road, Aberdeen.
Among the items reported stolen were one big and one small Gold Bauhinia Star medal, five watches, one pocket watch, eight pairs of cuff links and a silver rod. The list also includes one backpack, one plate, one set of stamps and two buttons.
They were understood to belong to Thompson, a medal recipient in 2003 who chairs the Hong Kong-based Crown Worldwide Group. The total value of the items was unknown.
Prosecutors also accused Fu of stealing 15 packs of instant noodles, four cans of canned food, five cans of soft drinks and one Bluetooth speaker from a house in Ngau Pui Wo village, Sai Kung, between September 16 and 22 last year.
He was refused bail by magistrate Jason Wan Siu-ming.
The case will return to the same court on October 20, but Fu will appear again next Wednesday to renew his bid for bail.
