31st October 2026 – (Hong Kong) A woman wearing a long dress was arrested on suspicion of theft after an incident outside the Eslite Bookstore at Olympian City Phase 3 in Tai Kok Tsui on Friday night. A one‑minute clip shared on a local Facebook group showed a male bookstore employee struggling with the woman near the customer enquiry point before she broke free and ran, stumbling to the ground moments later. A bystander intercepted her as staff closed in, drawing a crowd that looked on while workers said they had already contacted police.
Police said they received a report at 8.23pm that a 52‑year‑old local woman, surnamed Chan, had allegedly taken two gift cards worth a combined HK$80 from a bookstore at 1 Hoi Wang Road. She was arrested on suspicion of theft and the case was assigned to the Mong Kok Police District’s Criminal Investigation Team Four for follow‑up inquiries. Under Hong Kong’s Theft Ordinance, conviction on indictment carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment.
The video also captured exchanges in which staff urged onlookers not to let the woman leave and to wait for officers to arrive, while the woman appeared to deny wrongdoing. A mobile phone was reportedly left behind during the scuffle, prompting one bystander to ask whether the owner no longer wanted it, before the footage ended. Eslite’s Olympian City bookstore is located at Shop UG55‑58 on the upper ground floor of the Phase 3 mall at 1 Hoi Wang Road in Tai Kok Tsui.
