When the government seizes a bicycle, discards a computer or comes across an abandoned toaster at a housing estate, it sells them to the public by auction at the Government Logistics Centre in Chai Wan.
Last Thursday morning, 60 people crowded into a small room hoping to score a good deal on a huge array of goods, from air conditioners to rice cookers and even a Mercedes-Benz.
Among the items for sale: a batch of 63 bicycles seized by the government from Tin Yan Estate in Yuen Long. It took less than 30 seconds bidding before the batch was sold for HK$2,600 - just HK$41 per bike. 'That's the norm for bicycles,' an auction employee said.
The sale came attached with a warning, however: the bikes 'may not function properly', said the government auction guide. A Housing Department employee responsible for the bikes said: 'They're like rubbish - they don't work any more.'
The man who bought the bicycles declined to answer any questions. It appears most bikes bought at auction are sold for scrap.