3 weeks ago
Ex-Deloitte IT Manager Stole 423 Laptops to Fund Stock Trading
A man named Ho Man-Kit used to work at a very big company called Deloitte in Hong Kong, where he helped take care of the office computers.
Police say he secretly took about 423 laptops from his office over 17 months and sold them to get money.
He reportedly wanted the money to buy stocks, a way adults try to make their money grow.
Sadly, the news says his stock trading ended up losing a lot of money.
The laptops were very expensive, worth more than one million Hong Kong dollars.
Ho says he is very sorry and ashamed, and he even tried to hurt himself the day before he went to the police.
He was also under stress because his wife was sad after having a baby and his father was sick with cancer.
One report says he told the court he was guilty, while another says he did not have to say how he pleaded.
A judge will decide on August 21 what should happen to him.
He could go to jail for up to seven years.
Ho Man-Kit, 40, a former Deloitte IT manager, appeared before Hong Kong's District Court accused of stealing about 423 Lenovo laptops.
Prosecutors said the laptops, worth approximately HK$1.2 million (around Rs 1.46 crore), were stolen between September 2021 and February 2023.
Bank records reportedly showed Ho received more than HK$458,000 (around Rs 55 lakh) from selling the laptops to fund stock trading that ended in heavy losses.
The case came to light when an IT engineer found 399 laptops missing from Deloitte's office at Cityplaza in Quarry Bay; Ho confessed to his manager and surrendered to police.
Ho was remanded in custody, with Deputy Judge Minnie Wat Lai-man set to deliver sentence on August 21; one report said he pleaded guilty while another said no plea was required.
- Who
- Ho Man-Kit, 40, a former IT manager at Deloitte
- What
- Allegedly stole about 423 Lenovo laptops from Deloitte and sold them to fund personal stock market trading
- Where
- Hong Kong, including Deloitte's office at Cityplaza in Quarry Bay and a recycler's premises at Sin Tat Plaza in Mong Kok
- When
- Thefts occurred between September 2021 and February 2023; sentencing is scheduled for August 21
- Why
- To raise money for personal stock market investments that allegedly resulted in heavy losses
Key facts
- Defendant
- Ho Man-Kit, 40, former Deloitte IT manager
- Company
- Deloitte
- Stolen property
- About 423 Lenovo laptops worth approximately HK$1.2 million (around Rs 1.46 crore)
- Proceeds from sales
- More than HK$458,000 (around Rs 55 lakh)
- Period of thefts
- September 2021 to February 2023
- Presiding judge
- Deputy Judge Minnie Wat Lai-man
- Sentencing date
- August 21
- Maximum penalty
- 10 years' imprisonment in Hong Kong (7 years in District Court)
