Tourist steals from cop

Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station

A 52-year-old Filipino was sentenced to 17 months in prison after he was found guilty of pickpocketing at the Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station.

Magistrate So Wai-Tak of the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts on December 15 said the prosecution was able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that A.B. Roxas was one of the two pickpockets who took valuables worth over $10,000 from Zhi Yu, a policeman from mainland China.

So said it was “unbelievable” that Roxas did not take the victim’s valuables and that the defendant did not know the other suspect who remains at large. He also found prosecution witnesses to be “straightforward and unshaken in cross-examination.”

The magistrate rejected Roxas’ claim that he was coerced by a Hong Kong policeman to confess to the crime.

The judge said the defendant’s made contradictory statements, including claiming that he was suffering from hypertension while undergoing police interrogation.

So noted that Roxas later claimed that he was not suffering from any physical condition when the police questioned him.

Police officer Zhi was touring Hong Kong with his wife and daughter in August when pickpockets took his waist bag while he and his family were on the MTR.

The stolen items included a mobile phone, a credit card, cash, and other personal belongings.

Zhi collared Roxas and tagged him as one of the two thieves who took his bag.

So initially imposed a jail term of 13 months but noted two aggravating circumstances in the case: the crime was committed on a public transport; and that Roxas was “acting in concert” with another suspect.

Because of these, he added four more months to the Filipino’s jail sentence. Roxas, who had a clear record prior to this conviction, has a wife and eight children in the Philippines.