Hong Kong's love affair with Hello Kitty has turned criminal - light-fingered fans have stolen stickers of the ubiquitous cat from MTR stations.
Since October 22, people have made off with all 250 Hello Kitty stickers adorning advertising panels beside escalators throughout the subway network.
The hexagonal stickers were all stripped from advertising posters for 7-Eleven convenience stores. 7-Eleven officials said they had not called police about the thefts, but declined to say why.
An MTR spokesman said the decision to report the thefts to police rested with 7-Eleven.
The thieves were no doubt drawn to the stickers' three-dimensional nature. They change appearance when viewed from different angles, like a hologram.
7-Eleven's MTR advertising campaign, which began on October 22, is promoting a Hello Kitty magnet to be given away with every $20 spent by customers at any of its outlets.