An Australian man has been remanded after allegedly dining at five-star hotels in Hong Kong without paying, just a day after being fined HK$3,000 over similar charges.

Samuel Anthony Monkivitch, 50, appeared at Eastern Magistrates’ Courts on Friday. He was charged with making off without payment and criminal damage between April 24 and May 5, local media reported.

Monkivitch, a lawyer, is accused of not paying restaurant bills at Cafe Too at the Island Shangri-La in Admiralty, Cafe Kool at the Kowloon Shangri-La in Tsim Sha Tsui, and two other restaurants – one in Central and another in Wan Chai.

His bill at the four places totalled around HK$2,039, the court heard.

The criminal damage offences relate to allegations that on May 4, he destroyed a sales terminal at the Island Shangri-La and damaged a person’s iPhone outside the Hong Kong Museum of History in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Magistrate Tobias Cheng denied Monkivitch bail and adjourned the case to June 5. Monkivitch will attend a bail hearing on May 15.

Previously, on Thursday, the lawyer was fined HK$3,000 for two counts of making off without payment and one count of common assault. He pleaded guilty to the offences the same day, local media reported.

Monkivitch was accused of dashing off after spending HK$639.10 at a Chiu Chow restaurant in Times Square, a mall in Causeway Bay, on March 23. A restaurant staff member chased Monkivitch and said he had not paid, attracting the attention of a bystander surnamed Chen, who pointed a camera at him.

The lawyer got into an altercation with the bystander and said to him, “Do you want your head smashed in?”

Monkivitch was also accused of leaving before paying a bill of HK$586 at Footaholic, a massage parlour in Wan Chai, on March 25.

IKEA’s Tsim Sha Tsui outlet has halted sales of a frozen dessert item after a food safety test found that its level of coliform bacteria exceeded the standard limit.

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said in a statement on Tuesday night that the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) conducted tests on a frozen confection sample from a “licensed frozen confection factory in Tsim Sha Tsui” as part of routine checks.

Tests found that the sample contained 240 coliform bacteria per gram, more than twice the legal limit of 100 coliform bacteria per gram.

The frozen dessert was sold at the food section of Swedish furniture giant IKEA’s Tsim Sha Tsui store, located in K11 Art Mall.

“The CFS has informed the frozen confection factory concerned of the irregularity and instructed it to stop selling and to dispose [of] all the affected frozen confection immediately,” the statement read.

A group of bacteria found in digestive tracts and soil, coliforms in food can suggest contamination. They are usually present in small numbers in items such as raw milk, meat, poultry or other raw foods.

While mostly harmless, high levels of coliforms indicate unsanitary conditions or poor hygiene practices during food production, according to the CFS.

The CFS added that while the coliform count shows hygiene conditions were “unsatisfactory,” it did not mean consumption would cause food poisoning.

HKFP has reached out to IKEA for comment.

Australian lawyer Samuel Monkivitch has received a fine and suspended 18-month jail term after pleading guilty to charges relating to a dine-and-dash spree across the territory.

Monkivitch appeared on Friday at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts after dining at five-star hotels in Hong Kong without paying. He was previously fined HK$3,000 over similar charges.

In the most recent case, Monkivitch was charged with four instances of making off without payment between April 24 and May 5, as well as a criminal damage charge, local media reported.

The lawyer failed to pay restaurant bills at the Island Shangri-La’s Cafe Too in Admiralty, at the Kowloon Shangri-La’s Cafe Kool in Tsim Sha Tsui, and at two other restaurants – one in Central and another in Wan Chai. His bill at the four eateries totalled around HK$2,039, the court heard.

The criminal damage offences relate to allegations that, on May 4, he destroyed a sales terminal at the Island Shangri-La and damaged a person’s iPhone outside the Hong Kong Museum of History in Tsim Sha Tsui.

The 50-year-old was released on Friday after spending a month behind bars. He was fined HK$2,000 and was slapped with an six-week jail term suspended for 18 months, according to The Age. He was also ordered to pay HK12,539.90 to cover the damaged iPhone and unpaid bills.

A family member – who travelled to Hong Kong for the hearing – agreed to pay the fine.

He represented himself before Magistrate David Cheung, confirming that he was unemployed given his time in custody. When asked when he planned to return to Australia, he said “today, probably,” according to The Age. He pleaded guilty without seeing the prosecution’s statement of facts.

His former employer KorumLegal told the newspaper that they had parted ways with Monkivitch.

Earlier offence

Separately last month, he was fined HK$3,000 for two counts of making off without payment and one count of common assault. He pleaded guilty to the offences the same day, local media reported.

Monkivitch was accused of dashing off after spending HK$639.10 at a Chiu Chow restaurant in Times Square, a mall in Causeway Bay, on March 23. A restaurant staff member chased Monkivitch and said he had not paid, attracting the attention of a bystander surnamed Chen, who pointed a camera at him.

The lawyer got into an altercation with the bystander and said to him, “Do you want your head smashed in?”

Monkivitch was also accused of leaving before paying a bill of HK$586 at Footaholic, a massage parlour in Wan Chai, on March 25.