Integrity Focus

The ICAC had earlier charged 11 people, namely the operator of a small house developer, a village representative and small house applicants, for conspiring together to deceive the Lands Department into granting various building licenses for a small house estate development project in Yuen Long by transferring the “Ding Rights” concerned. Two of the small house applicants each received a one-year jail term at the Tuen Mun Magistrates’ Courts today (December 13).

Two small house applicants, Choi Wai-sang, 63, and Jimmy Tang Kiu-chin, 74, earlier each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to the Common Law.

In sentencing, Acting Principal Magistrate Mr Daniel Tang Siu-hung remarked that the offences involved in the present cases were serious in nature. By selling their “Ding Rights”, the defendants defrauded the government and exploited land use, warranting custodial sentences.

Under the New Territories Small House Policy, every male indigenous inhabitant of the New Territories aged 18 or above may exercise his “Ding Right” once and apply to the Lands Department for building a small house within a recognised village of the New Territories for his own occupation. A “Ding Right” is not transferrable.

The court heard that between February and June 2006, Choi and Tang respectively made an application to the Lands Department for building a small house in Shui Tsiu San Tsuen in Yuen Long for their own occupation. They claimed that they were the respective sole legal and registered owner of the lots of land concerned, had never entered into any agreements with others to transfer or otherwise deal with their lots of land or relevant interests, and had no intention to sell their “Ding Rights” to other individuals or developers. The Lands Department subsequently granted the building licenses to the duo.

The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint. Enquiries revealed that since November 1991, a number of individuals, including Choi and Tang, had applied for building small houses in Shui Tsiu San Tsuen. The small houses were subsequently sold to members of the public by a developer under the name of a private estate, and each small house was sold at market price ranging from $9 to $13 million. The small houses of Choi and Tang were respectively sold in 2015 and 2017. The developer concerned received over $1,000 million for the sale of 115 small houses in the private estate.

ICAC enquiries also revealed that since the 1990s, an indigenous inhabitant representative and other middlemen started the development of the estate project in Shui Tsiu San Tsuen by purchasing “Ding Rights” from indigenous inhabitants of Yuen Long. Choi and Tang had conspired with the middlemen to sell their “Ding Rights” at $100,000 each, totalling $200,000.

Later in about March 2005, a developer entered into an agreement with the indigenous inhabitant representative and appointed the latter as its trustee to jointly develop the small house project. The indigenous inhabitant representative and the middlemen then continued to purchase more “Ding Rights” from indigenous inhabitants and arranged for them to apply for building licences to build small houses in Shui Tsiu San Tsuen.

The Lands Department offered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the cases. The prosecution was today represented by ICAC officer Chris Lai.

Two individuals implicated in the scam, namely Edward Wong Kwong-wing, 75, operator of Wing Smart Construction Limited, and Ching Chan-ming, 67, indigenous inhabitant representative of Shui Tsiu San Tsuen, were earlier jointly charged by the ICAC in another case with one count of conspiracy to defraud. Their case is set for trial at the District Court on February 10, 2025.

The ICAC also charged seven other small house applicants, aged between 43 and 74, in separate cases. The defendants are Wong Kwun-sing, Chan Chi-ming, Chan Wing-kin, Leung Kam-yick, Lung Fok-ye, Yeung Kai-kwong and Lok Tin-lung. Their cases are adjourned to January 17 next year for plea.