Four former warehouse employees of CHANEL’s Hong Kong branch have been sentenced to four to seven years in prison for conspiring to steal more than 700 items scheduled for destruction, worth about HK$19 million.
CHANEL destroys around 10,000 to 20,000 pieces of outdated merchandise every six months to protect brand exclusivity. In early 2017, four warehouse workers conspired to steal 123 wallets and 601 handbags belonging to CHANEL Hong Kong Limited. They were intercepted by police while transporting the stolen goods away.
Two defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal before trial, while the former warehouse manager and another warehouse worker were convicted following a trial in the High Court.
In handing down the sentences, High Court Judge Douglas Yau Tak-hong noted that the theft was detected on the same day, allowing all stolen items to be recovered immediately. He added that the items were later destroyed as planned, resulting in no financial loss for CHANEL.
Taking into account the nearly decade-long delay in the case, Yau applied sentence reductions, imposing final prison terms of four to seven years on the four defendants.
