Duo nabbed for illegally mining crypto using stolen power from disability care home

Two local men were arrested in Mong Kok and Sham Shui Po for allegedly stealing electricity from residential care homes for persons with disabilities to power cryptocurrency-mining machines.

The arrest was made after police received reports from The Spastics Association of Hong Kong the previous Thursday (Sep 4), indicating signs of unusual network slowness inside its care homes located in Sham Shui Po and Sau Mau Ping.

Investigations show that the two suspects, aged 32 and 33, installed eight cryptocurrency mining devices in the false ceilings while conducting engineering work.

The installation caused a significant increase in the care homes' electricity consumption last month, the authorities said, resulting in an additional cost of approximately HK$8,000 to HK$9,000.

The suspects are being detained on suspicion of abstracting electricity. Police noted that this is believed to be an isolated incident.