Elderly man who spiked soft drinks with urine handed 1-year probation order

2026-02-11 - 04:38

An elderly man who spiked bottled soft drinks in supermarkets with his own urine has been sentenced to a 12-month probation order after a psychiatric report indicated his lack of emotional and stress regulation capabilities. Coca-Cola drinks in a supermarket in Hong Kong. File photo: Kelly Ho/HKFP. Defence counsel for Lo Kim-ngai, 63, cited probation and community service reports suggesting a probation order, given his remorse for his actions. Magistrate Andrew Mok at the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday accepted the recommendation for a probation order on the condition that Lo undergo psychiatric or psychological treatment, according to local news outlet The Witness. Lo, a retired property agent, has been remanded since his arrest in August, after placing bottles of Coca-Cola Plus and 7-Up spiked with his own urine in seven Wellcome and ParknShop outlets between July 2024 and August 2025. He was arrested after a nine-year-old boy drank a suspected contaminated drink and felt unwell. He pleaded guilty last month to two charges – administering a toxic substance – namely, the urine – with intent to harm, aggrieve, or annoy others and attempting to commit the offence. The maximum penalty for the offence is three years in prison. ‘Foolish act’ According to case details read out in court, staff at Swire Coca-Cola and the Department of Health received reports of contaminated products at the supermarkets. Contaminated products were found during government investigations, while surveillance footage showed the defendant placing bottles onto supermarket shelves. Kowloon City Law Courts Building. Photo: Candice Chau/HKFP. Under police caution after his arrest, he confessed to the offence, saying that the supermarket staff made him unhappy. During an earlier mitigation hearing, the defence told the court that Lo’s parents had passed away and that his ex-wife and son had relocated to the United States, severing contact with him. The defence argued the defendant was depressed and had committed the “foolish act” as a prank following an altercation with supermarket staff. Magistrate Mok described the defendant’s behaviour as extremely childish and reckless and said that it was strange that someone of Lo’s age would commit such an offence. He also advised Lo to take the opportunity to work on managing his emotions.