2 girls held for stealing $8K worth of stationeries

THE police arrested two Filipino girls for stealing $8,000 worth of stationeries in Taikoo Shing.

The defendants, who were in their late teens and residents of Hong Kong, appeared before Eastern Magistrate Abu Bakar Bin Wahab and pleaded guilty to the charge of theft.

“Based on your plea and admission of the facts, I find both defendants guilty as charged,” Judge Wahab said on May 19.

The girls were shopping in a store when they surreptitiously put the stationaries in a plastic bag but were caught.

The prosecution was asked if the case could be dealt through a “bind over” since the defendants had pleaded guilty, expressed remorse, and returned the stolen stationeries.

In a bind over, the girls would promise not to commit any crime for a certain period of time so that they would not be punished.

However, the Department of Justice did not agree to a bind over.

Judge Wahab called for a probation order report and community service order report to determine the appropriate sentence for the defendants. He adjourned the case to give the authorities time to prepare the reports.

“No sentence has been decided so don’t worry,” Judge Wahab told the defendants.