The Hong Kong Eastern Court ordered on Wednesday 37-year-old Lam Ching-kan to perform 200 hours of community service. The punishment was for Lam’s theft of breastmilk from the office pantry.
The breastmilk-stealing incident happened in March, Shanghaiist reported. But Lam did not just filched the stored breastmilk intended for a female officemate’s baby at home.
He also sent the owner of the breastmilk messages from his mobile phone that he drank her stored milk. Lam, a computer technician, also sent in April the woman a picture of a plastic-wrapped erect male genital and another glass of milk.
Lam was caught after an investigation reviewed CCTV footage which showed Lam was the only person in the office who used a mobile phone at the time the woman received the message and lewd photos. When he filed a guilty plea in early December, Lam apologized for his behavior and attributed what he did to his inability to cope with office stress.
Rachel Wong, the defense lawyer, said Lam is not mentally sick but stole the breastmilk due to stress, South China Morning Post reported. But it was not Lam’s first conviction involving a female victim.
However, despite his admission of guilt, a probation office recommended only community service for Lam after a psychologist said the computer technician has slim chances of repeating the same offense. Eastern Court Magistrate Jason Wan Siu-ming agreed with the probation officer.
Wan told Lam to think of how he come mend ties with his family who were embarrassed by the breastmilk-stealing incident. “The exposure of the incident, others’ knowledge, the trouble brought to your family – that’s a punishment you brought upon yourself, but your family is innocent,” the magistrate reminded Lam.