Man arrested for stealing colonial era T-shaped street signs

A 49-year-old man has been arrested for stealing at least nine colonial-era T-shaped street signs throughout the city, as sources say the man resells the street signs to collectors to earn thousands of Hong Kong dollars each. 

The arrest came as the Highways Department earlier reported to police that they found 10 T-shaped street signs had been illegally removed after patrolling. 

The signs were initially located on Pei Ho Street, Fuk Wah Street, Apliu Street, Ki Lung Street, Po On Road, Yee Kuk Street in Sham Shui Po district; Wai On Street and Pok Man Street in Tai Kok Tsui; and Ma Tau Kok Road in To Kwa Wan. 

Sources said the man lives in Sham Shui Po and was arrested on Fuk Wing Street. 

The man was arrested for theft and burglary as police investigations revealed that he was related to multiple burglaries at rooftop homes. He was remanded in custody. 

One of the missing street signs, Po On Road, was located at Five Districts Business Welfare Association School, the primary school Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu studied. 

The school confirmed that the department enquired about the street sign last Monday (Aug 7) and later discovered the sign had gone missing. 

The school’s staffers checked the security camera footage and found the camera was intentionally covered when the sign disappeared. Yet, they didn’t spot any suspicious person. 

The school estimated that the sign had been there since its establishment in 1957. As the sign is government property, the school said the incident is now being attended to by relevant authorities. 

As of mid-July, the department’s records show that there are a total of 76 colonial-era T-shaped street signs on some 60 streets in eight districts, including Sham Shui Po, North district, Tai Po, Kowloon City, Yau Tsim Mong, Central and Western district, Wan Chai and the Eastern district. 

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