HK Toilet Paper Hijackers Get 40 Months in Jail

The February 2020 robbery took place when toilet paper was in short supply amid panic buying during the coronavirus outbreak.

Three men who stole 600 rolls of toilet paper from a supermarket in Hong Kong at the start of Covid-19 pandemic were sentenced Thursday to 40 months in prison.

On Feb. 17, 2020, 27-year-old warehouse worker Ho Chi-leung used a knife to freeze a delivery man outside a Wellcome supermarket as 34-year-old transport worker Lee Yan-to and 30-year-old steel bender Lee Yip-tong took 50 packets of toilet paper worth around HK$1,700 ($220). The three were tracked down by police and arrested the same day, and they repaid the supermarket in the full amount.

Their defense lawyers said the robbery did not cause any injury or involve valuables, and the stolen goods were all recovered. But the judge said the crime took place amid panic buying caused by the pandemic and the seriousness of the crime should not be diminished by the value of the stolen goods.

Robbery is a serious offence in Hong Kong, where the maximum sentence for armed robbery is life imprisonment, regardless of the nature and value of the property involved.

Contact reporter Denise Jia (huijuanjia@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bobsimison@caixin.com).

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