Armed gang steals toilet rolls in panic-buying hit Hong Kong
17 February, 2020
Armed robbers who stole hundreds of toilet rolls were being hunted by Hong Kong police on Monday (Feb 17), in a city wracked by shortages due to coronavirus panic-buying.
Toilet rolls have become hot property in the densely packed business hub, despite government assurances that supplies remain unaffected by the virus outbreak.
Supermarkets have found themselves unable to restock quickly enough, leading to sometimes lengthy queues and shelves stripped bare within occasions of opening.
Alongside toilet rolls, there's been a operate on staples like rice and pasta together with hand sanitiser and other cleaning items.
Police said a truck driver happened up early Monday by three men outside a supermarket in Mong Kok, a working-class district with a brief history of "triad" organised crime gangs.
"A delivery man was threatened by three knife-wielding men who took wc paper worth a lot more than HK$1,000 (US$130)," a police spokesman told AFP.
Footage from Now TV showed police investigators standing around multiple crates of toilet roll outside a Wellcome supermarket. One of the crates was only half stacked.
The hysteria which has swept through Hong Kong since the coronavirus outbreak exploded on mainland China is partly fuelled by the city's tragic recent history of confronting a deadly disease.
In 2003, 299 Hong Kongers died of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), an outbreak that started on the mainland but was primarily covered up by Beijing, a decision that left a lasting legacy of distrust towards the authorities on public medical issues.
This year's coronavirus outbreak also comes at the same time when the city's pro-Beijing leadership boasts historic low approval ratings after refusing to bow to months of angry pro-democracy protests this past year.
Authorities have blamed false online rumours for the panic-buying and say supplies of food and household goods remain stable.
But the panic-buying has itself created shortages in another of the world's most densely populated cities where supermarkets and pharmacies have limited living area.
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