He reported the items missing three days after borrowing them
A compulsive book collector narrowly escaped going to prison yesterday for keeping books from a public library after falsely claiming they had been lost.
Magistrate Timothy Casewell handed unemployed Yeung Keng-yuk, 38, a 28-day jail term and $1,000 fine for his 'act of dishonesty' but suspended the term for two years because Yeung suffered from schizophrenia.
Yeung, who had denied two charges of abusing library regulations, was convicted in the first such prosecution in Hong Kong.
Outside the court, Yeung - who described himself at an earlier hearing as a 'bookworm' - said he had paid about $6,000 in fees and surcharges for the books. He said he would still go to the library but in future would make sure he returned the books on time.
Mr Casewell had wanted to put Yeung on probation for 18 months but after Yeung said it would make it impossible for him to find a job, he was given the fine and suspended sentence.