A nursing student has been jailed for 28 months after pleading guilty to 11 theft charges involving patients and medical staff at Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital. Three further theft charges were left on file.
The thefts took place over a short period in September and October 2024, while the student was assigned to a 20th-floor ward for training. Property reported missing included an iPhone, cash and credit cards taken from patients and staff, including cards kept in changing-room lockers.
Some of the stolen cards were used for Apple Store purchases. The case involved nearly HK$100,000 overall. The student admitted stealing the iPhone and selling it.
Police arrested the student after investigating the thefts. They found HK$500 in cash and five other people’s credit cards. A search of his home recovered further cards and an Apple Store receipt.
In a police interview, he said he owed about HK$300,000 and had lost about HK$20,000 in a fraud. The defence said he regretted the offences and had offered about HK$60,000 in compensation to the victims.
The acting judge said the student had used his nursing placement to gain access to wards and changing rooms, and that repeated thefts within a short period had damaged trust between patients, the hospital and healthcare professionals.
The court took the guilty pleas and compensation into account when sentencing. It also heard that there was no evidence the colleagues’ stolen cards had been used, but the potential loss from those cards was still serious.