Ex-Deloitte IT manager remanded for stealing firm’s laptops to fund stock trading
A former Deloitte information technology (IT) manager has been remanded in custody pending sentence for stealing 423 laptops from the accounting firm’s Hong Kong office over 17 months to fund his stock trading addiction. Ho Man-kit, 40, pleaded guilty to a count of theft at the District Court on Tuesday, after he misappropriated the Lenovo computers worth HK$1.2 million (US$153,000) and sold them…
A former Deloitte IT manager, Ho Man-kit, has been taken into custody pending sentencing for stealing 423 Lenovo laptops from the accounting firm's Hong Kong office between September 2021 and February 2023. The laptops, valued at HK$1.2 million (US$153,000), were later sold to an electronics recycler, which led to Ho's arrest. Ho pleaded guilty to theft at the District Court on Tuesday, admitting that he attempted to sell the laptops on February 13, 2023, but was thwarted by IT staff who reviewed CCTV footage.
The theft came to light when an IT engineer discovered a shortage of 399 laptops at Deloitte's Cityplaza office in Quarry Bay. Despite claims that he lost all proceeds through unsuccessful stock trading, bank records show Ho received more than HK$458,000 from the illicit sales. Ho's defense highlighted that he was under significant family-related stress, including his wife's postnatal depression and his ailing father's lung cancer surgery.
A court date for sentencing is set for August 21, with the maximum penalty for theft being seven years in prison, although that was reduced due to the District Court jurisdiction.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
