A Hospital Authority senior executive and her doctor husband were on Thursday fined HK$5,000 each, after being convicted of stealing food from a supermarket in Whampoa.

Vivien Chuang, a chief manager who had hosted a number of daily Covid-19 press briefings, and orthopaedic doctor Chiu Ming-yu, earlier pleaded not guilty to theft, involving 10 items – including a watermelon, two packs of sashimi and a bag of chicken – totalling more than HK$1,600 on April 23, 2022.

Handing down her verdict, Kowloon City Magistrate Frances Leung rejected the pair's claims that they were misled by police into admitting their guilt in their statements.

She also said the couple had been selective in deciding not to scan items at a self-checkout machine.

Leung noted that the pair only paid around HK$600 at checkout.

In mitigation, the defence said Chiu was at the frontline of the 2003 SARS outbreak, while Chuang had contributed greatly during the Covid pandemic.

The defence lawyers also said the orthopaedic doctor would have to face a disciplinary hearing, and the HA executive would likely be suspended.

Describing the case as "pitiful", the magistrate said in sentencing that even though the supermarket did not incur any losses, the penalty must reflect the seriousness of the offence.

The pair left the court after the hearing without responding to questions from the media.