A bookworm who hoarded 83 library books at his Hong Kong home and told librarians he had lost them has been given a suspended jail sentence, a news report said on Wednesday.
Police found the books at the home of Yeung Keng-yuk, 38, after he repeatedly told library staff he had misplaced books taken out between 2002 and 2004, the South China Morning Post reported.
Unemployed Yeung was convicted of abusing library regulations in the first case of its kind in Hong Kong. He was given a 28-day suspended jail term and fined $130 at a hearing Tuesday.
The books Yeung hoarded were mostly academic volumes on modern Chinese history, the newspaper reported.
Yeung, who described himself as a bookworm, said outside court he would continue to go the library but would make sure he returned books on time in future. — Sapa/DPA