A man claiming to be a professor from the Chinese mainland received a prison sentence of eight months and eight days at a court in Hong Kong on Monday after being found guilty of stealing books from the airport and items from a woman's bag.

Li Chunjiang, 49, who said he was a politics professor from a university on the Chinese mainland and worked temporarily in Hong Kong, was originally caught stealing 46 books worth HK$5,770 ($744) from two bookstores at Hong Kong International Airport on April 29, according to a report in the Southern Metropolis Daily.

He was granted bail but was caught again on June 20, stealing from a woman's bag at a coffee bar at the airport.