Hong Kong shoplifting up by almost 12%

Police say not all thefts caused by money worries

HONG KONG: Hong Kong police have logged a nearly 12% increase in shoplifting offences and said that some offenders could afford to pay but had acted on impulse as a way to deal with psychological problems.

Police clinical psychologist Michael Fung Ho-kin explained some thefts were an unhealthy coping mechanism, where the individual looked for excitement during prolonged periods of stress.

“The theft isn’t about economic value, but rather a form of emotional value to fill in a void,” Fung said.

He was speaking after the force recorded 3,678 thefts from shops from January to May, with 135 of them, 6.9%, repeat offenders.

The figure was an 11.9% rise on the 3,288 cases logged over the same period last year.

Police have arrested 1,959 people in connection with the latest offences.

Non-governmental organisation SideBySide, which has counselled some of the detained shoplifters, agreed that economic problems were not always the driving force.

Ip Chi-wai, the supervisor of the organisation’s court social work service, said that more than half did not have money problems.

“[Some] were caught with lots of money to hand, sufficient to pay for the item they had stolen,” he said.

Ip said he had encountered an offender, a housewife in her forties with two sons, who was caught stealing household items worth around HK$100 (470 baht).

“We found out that she was a lonely person,” he added. “She had to take care of the kids and her husband’s mind was focused on providing for the family.”

Ip added that the woman was not aware of her own stress and bottled-up emotions, even after she was arrested.

He said it took counselling for her and her husband to realise how much distress she had been hiding and to learn how to cope with stress.

Kelly Choi Wing-yuk, a chief inspector in the force’s crime prevention bureau, said most shoplifters acted on impulse or for personal gain, with prices of stolen goods ranging from HK$10 up to thousands of dollars.

The largest case in the first five months of the year happened in February, when a 22-year-old man stole two bottles of wine worth a total of HK$132,145.

He was sentenced to six months imprisonment after he was caught through CCTV footage of the incident.

Choi added that seasonal patterns also influenced the types of goods stolen in the city.

She said wine and chocolates would often be stolen between November and January, a peak holiday festive season.

But she added in summer, ice-cream and fruit became popular targets.

Health supplements, medicine, shampoo and razors were also common targets for shoplifters.

Choi suggested that they were popular as they were relatively expensive and easy to hide.

Fung said he had noticed that many people’s first thefts were not deliberate, as they had taken items they had not paid for out of the shop by mistake and only discovered they had them later.

“But they discovered at home that this had no consequences, and it felt exciting,” he added.

“[Alternatively] the process of stealing could be nerve-racking, but once they had passed through the security gates, a sense of thrill would emerge.

“This also explains why during their lowest periods of their lives, when their emotional state hits rock bottom, that they would do this to make themselves feel better. It’s like taking drugs.”

But Fung warned that using theft as a booster was a vicious circle, as feelings of guilt would consume the individual after the rush of pleasure disappeared and they would fall back into a low mood.