What would you do if money started falling from the sky? People walking along Fuk Wa Street in Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong, witnessed the baffling sight of banknotes floating down from above last Saturday.

Videos posted online suggest that the notes were thrown from the roof of a building, fluttering through the air before landing on the busy street below.

Passers-by can be seen eagerly grabbing the notes, with some climbing onto the roof of the subway exit to pick up the banknotes.

Photos on social media show that the notes were of HK$100 (S$17.60) denomination. One Facebook user appeared to have picked up at least six notes.

Police were called to the scene after receiving reports of someone distributing money in Fuk Wa Street, and told people not to pick up the money, said South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Officers collected around HK$5,000, and no one was arrested, according to the report.

A live video on the Facebook page of Epoch Cryptocurrency that began at 2.42pm showed a man dressed in a black hoodie saying in Cantonese: "I hope everyone here will pay attention to this important event… (I) don't know whether any of you will believe money can fall from the sky."

The man is believed to be the owner of Epoch Cryptocurrency, a Facebook page that promotes cryptocurrency. The man is widely known online as Coin Young Master and his real name is Wong Ching-kit, reported SCMP. Bowen Press said the 24-year-old man refuted claims he was behind the incident.

But Agence France-Presse later reported that he was arrested yesterday for causing disorder in a public place.