THE son of Hang Seng Bank chairman Sir Quo-wei Lee, George Lee Wing-chi, is being treated in Central Hospital for compulsive shoplifting, Western Court heard yesterday.
Lee, 43, a company director, pleaded guilty to five counts of theft between October 16 and February 3 in which he stole items including travelling bags, dried flowers, perfumed candles, a cigar and a torch.
Magistrate Paul Kelly adjourned sentencing to April 12 pending a probation report. He extended Lee's bail on condition that Lee remain in Central Hospital.
Defence counsel Charles Ching QC said Lee's mental disorder resulted from injuries suffered in two car accidents before 1990.
Mr Ching said Lee lost control of himself and did not know what he was doing when he took the items without paying.
The court heard that on October 16, Lee stole a black travelling bag, a bottle of perfume, a box of dried flowers, one cigar and a box of perfumed candles worth $2,583 from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.