A university teacher who had been previously commended for finding lost items and turning them over to police was yesterday fined $1,500 for stealing a pair of trousers worth $20.
Kowloon City Court magistrate Peter Law Tak-chuen said he was convinced Ma Sau-ling, 39, had dishonest motives in taking the trousers from a fashion boutique owned by Wong Tak-ming.
Ma defended herself yesterday, saying she was 'always' finding lost objects. She said she had received several commendation letters from police for her honesty in handing over such items.
She submitted two letters of commendation from police and said she had lost many more such letters. She denied one count of theft. The name of the university and the nature of her job were not disclosed in court.
She told the court she had found the trousers in a plastic bag near the boutique. But the magistrate said he did not believe her account of the incident, which took place in September.
He said Mr Wong had made an 'accurate observation' of Ma stealing the trousers.