Last Week in Reality

Sat 27

Knees Up At 4pm, an estate agent handling shop spaces in a newly opened Tai Po mall is photographed kneeling on the ground, begging a woman to make a purchase. Witnesses tell Apple Daily that the man was kneeling for two minutes, causing a crowd to gather around the scene. The woman eventually hurries off. An estate agent also working at the mall tells reporters that the behavior is damaging to their professional image.

Sun 28

Smoke Hold At around 10am, a 65-year-old man sits on a Quarry Bay roadside bench with his newspaper and a pack of cigarettes. A younger South Asian man carrying a bag of beer walks up to him and takes the cigarette packet. He lights one cigarette and tries to burn the older man with the lit end. The older man dodges the cigarette and pushes the man to the ground, wrestling him into a headlock and holding him down while the police are called. The younger man is arrested while the older man is sent to the hospital for an elbow injury.

Mon 29

Leap of Faith A man on a bike snatches a woman’s purse in Yuen Long at around midnight and cycles away. The woman calls the police, who find and confront the man, but he abandons his bike and runs off with the bag. The police chase the man, and he jumps 5 meters down into a dry channel, injuring himself. Police find a knife, screwdriver, and pliers in his backpack, as well as the woman’s purse. He is arrested on suspicion of robbery, possession of burglary tools, and assaulting a police officer. Unable to walk, a stretcher is sent down to carry him out of the channel.

Tue 30

Laundryland A woman from the mainland visiting Hong Kong Disneyland removes five pieces of clothing from her bag, including a white bra and a red-and-white striped pair of panties, and hangs them to dry on a railing on Main Street USA during the parade. When a security guard asks her to remove the clothes, she moves them to a different railing. Shortly afterwards, she is expelled from the park. Hong Kong Disneyland has said that staff are trained to discourage inappropriate behavior.

Wed 01

You Talkin’ To Me? In Tsim Sha Tsui after 2am, a drunk man wearing a shirt picturing Spanish footballer Xavi tries to get into an out-of-service taxi. The driver is resting, and refuses the customer. The two men argue, and the drunk passenger punches the driver in the face. He then climbs onto the hood of the taxi and jumps on it repeatedly, denting the hood and kicking the windshield until the glass breaks. Police arrest the passenger and both men are sent to the hospital.

Thu 02

Fishy Fingers On Tuesday, a woman is caught on CCTV shoplifting a packet of fish floss worth $7.90 from a Tsim Sha Tsui 7-Eleven. Today she enters the shop again, but the cashier recognizes her from the camera footage and calls the police. She protests her arrest loudly and is taken away in a van.

Fri 03

Big Day Out While walking to kindergarten a 6-year-old Kwun Tong child slips out of his grandmother’s grasp and runs away. The grandmother is unable to chase him and notifies his school and the police. Six hours later the police find him sitting on a nearby park bench. His grandmother tells reporters that the child thinks his mother neglects him. Locals say that is the fourth time the child has run off.