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Feb 2024Company vice president charged by ICAC for soliciting $2m bribe over property development project disputeThe vice president of a company was charged by the ICAC yesterday (February 28) for allegedly soliciting a bribe of $2 million to $3 million from a business partner for assisting to resolve a dispute between the two parties over a property development project on terms most favourable to the business partner.Wang Wenning, 64, vice president of China Coal Hong Kong Limited (CCHK, formerly known as Double Resources Limited), faces one count of agent soliciting an advantage, contrary to Section 9(1)(b) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. He was released on ICAC bail, pending his appearance at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (March 1) for plea.In 1994, the parent company of CCHK planned to jointly invest in a property development project with the business partner and capital injection would be made by CCHK. CCHK subsequently intended to withdraw from the project but the two parties failed to reach a final agreement.Since 2018, CCHK and the business partner had a dispute over the amount of money entitled by CCHK regarding the realisable assets of the project. The defendant was assigned to resolve the dispute.It is alleged that on October 8, 2018, the defendant solicited from a director-cum- shareholder of the business partner a bribe between $2 million and $3 million for assisting to resolve the dispute on terms and conditions most favourable to the business partner. The solicitation was declined.CCHK does not allow its employees to solicit or accept advantages from others in relation to CCHK’s affairs and business.CCHK and the business partner concerned have rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case. 28
Feb 2024Trio charged by ICAC admit roles in $37.5m critical illness insurance compensation fraud at High CourtAn insurance agent and two others, who were charged by the ICAC after a corruption investigation revealed their roles in a $37.5 million critical illness insurance compensation scam in which cancer patients were posed as policyholders to undergo medical examinations at clinical institutions to obtain medical certificates, today (February 28) pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud at the High Court.Wong Ka-keung, 45, former insurance agent of AIA International Limited (AIA); Lo Chun-kit, 45, driver; and Leung Wai-kin, 42, renovation worker, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to Common Law. Wong further admitted four similar offences and three counts of forgery, contrary to Section 71 of the Crimes Ordinance.Madam Justice Anna Lai Yuen-kee adjourned the case to Friday (March 1) for sentence. Wong and Leung were remanded in the custody of the Correctional Services Department while Lo was granted bail.The court heard that since mid-December 2017, Wong and Lo had been discussing how to make false insurance claims for Lo. They agreed that Lo would take out a high coverage critical illness policy while the premium would be paid by Wong. Lo subsequently took out two insurance policies from AIA through Wong.Wong and Lo then recruited Leung, who was a lymphoma patient, through middlemen to pose as Lo to attend medical examinations at various clinical institutions. After obtaining the required medical certificates confirming that Lo was diagnosed with cancer, critical illness and medical expenses claims were made to AIA, resulting in payments totalling over $9.8 million.Upon receiving the compensations, Lo passed about $7 million to Wong. Apart from enjoying 37 sessions of free medical examinations or treatments, Leung received $32,000 from Wong.ICAC investigation also revealed that Wong deployed similar fraudulent means to arrange other patients diagnosed with throat, breast, stomach and ovarian cancer to pose as him and two other policyholders to undergo examinations at various clinical institutions, so as to facilitate Wong and the two policyholders to file critical illness and medical expenses claims with AIA in relation to eight insurance policies handled by Wong for compensations totalling about $24.7 million.Wong also made three false certificates of sickness with the intention that one of the cancer patients could use them to apply for a two-year sick leave with her employer.AIA had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation.The prosecution was today represented by Senior Public Prosecutor Audrey Parwani, assisted by ICAC officers Jeff Chow and Romeo Chu.The ICAC had earlier charged one of the policyholders Liao Xiaoyi and her younger sister Liao Xiaoling in separate cases. Liao Xiaoling was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts last October after pleading guilty to two counts of incitement to commit forgery. Liao Xiaoyi, who faced two counts of conspiracy to defraud, will appear at the District Court for mention next Monday (March 4).The ICAC reminds insurance intermediaries to uphold integrity while members of public and policyholders should not take part in any insurance-related corrupt and illegal activities. The ICAC collaborated with the insurance industry to compile the “Corruption Prevention Guide for Insurance Companies” which assisted insurance companies in building and strengthening their corruption prevention capabilities in key operational areas such as claims verification. The ICAC will continue to collaborate with the industry in providing integrity training to insurance intermediaries. Information is available at the “Ethics Promotion Website for the Insurance Industry” produced by the Hong Kong Business Ethics Development Centre. 09
Feb 2024Property officer charged by ICAC jailed for four months for conspiring with renovation contractor to deceive IOThe ICAC had earlier charged a then property officer of a property management company and a renovation contractor as a corruption investigation revealed that they had conspired together to deceive the Incorporated Owners (IO) of a private residential building in To Kwa Wan into awarding a water pipe replacement project to the contractor by using false quotations. The property officer was today (February 9) sentenced to four months’ imprisonment at the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts.Lau Cheuk-yan, 42, former property officer of Harbourfield Property Management Limited (Harbourfield), was earlier convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to the Common Law.In sentencing, Magistrate Mr Philip Chan Chee-fai remarked that the court had to impose a custodial sentence on Lau for showing no remorse for orchestrating a scam which excluded other companies from participating in the works tendering exercise concerned.Co-defendant Chan Kam-wah, 57, director-cum-shareholder of Hing Fat Building Maintenance Company Limited (Hing Fat), was earlier jailed for two months and two weeks after pleading guilty to the conspiracy to defraud charge; and three counts of possessing a false instrument, contrary to section 75(2) of the Crimes Ordinance.At the material time, Harbourfield provided property management service to Sunny Court, a private residential building in To Kwa Wan. Staff of Harbourfield were required to source at least three quotations from its approved contractors before conducting any renovation works worth between $10,000 and $200,000.In 2021, Harbourfield conducted a quotation exercise for the Sunny Court to select a renovation contractor for a water pipe replacement project. The IO of Sunny Court received three quotations via Lau. In May 2021, the project was awarded to Hing Fat, which offered the lowest bid of $70,000.The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint. Enquiries revealed that the two engineering companies concerned were not approved contractors of Harbourfield and they had never submitted the two quotations. But Lau and Chan conspired together to defraud the IO of Sunny Court by submitting the two false quotations. It was also revealed that Chan possessed three other false quotations purportedly issued by one of the two engineering companies to another residential building, a commercial building and a shopping mall.Harbourfield and the IO of Sunny Court had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.The prosecution was today represented by Senior Public Prosecutor Steven Liu, assisted by ICAC officer Potina Koo.The ICAC attaches great importance to the integrity standard of the property management industry. Staff of property management companies are reminded to uphold a high standard of integrity and abide by the laws. The ICAC has recently launched the “Corruption Prevention Guide for Property Management Companies” to enhance the corruption prevention capabilities of property management companies and assist property management companies in managing corruption risks in providing property management services, including assisting IOs in carrying out procurement for renovation works. 07
Feb 2024Ex-assistant general manager of newspaper company’s advertising department faces five additional bribery chargesA former assistant general manager of the advertising department of a newspaper company, earlier charged by the ICAC for soliciting bribes from subordinates, was yesterday (February 6) charged with five additional counts of bribery charges for accepting bribes of about $88,000 from two subordinates upon their receipt of commissions from the company for securing event sponsorships.Daniel Wu Hang-chi, also known as Wu Che-hang, 43, former assistant general manager of the advertising department of Hong Kong Commercial Daily (HKCD), was charged in March last year with three counts of conspiracy for an agent to solicit an advantage, contrary to Section 9(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (POBO) and Section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance.Upon receipt of further legal advice from the Department of Justice, the defendant was yesterday charged with five counts of agent accepting an advantage, contrary to Section 9(1)(a) of the POBO. He was released on bail, pending his appearance at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (February 8) for mention, when the case will be transferred to the District Court.At that time, Wu was the assistant general manager of the advertising department of HKCD. He was responsible for overseeing the operations of the department, supervising sales representatives, and assisting sales representatives to secure event sponsorships. Sales representatives were entitled to 10 per cent of the sponsorships they secured as commission. Wu would receive bonuses after each event or at the end of the year, subject to the profits made, but he was not entitled to share the commissions of the sales representatives. Meanwhile, HKCD did not allow its staff to solicit or accept any advantage in relation to its business.The five additional charges alleged that between January 2020 and January 2022, Wu accepted five bribes totalling about $88,000 from two sales representatives for assisting them to obtain sponsorships for the events.The three charges earlier laid against Wu alleged that he conspired together with one of the sales representatives to solicit three bribes totalling about $35,000 from two other sales representatives for assisting the latter to obtain event sponsorships. The requests were eventually turned down.At the material time, the four sales representatives secured various sponsorships totalling over $3.5 million for four events.Co-defendants Lee Kwok-wai and Ngo Kam-fai, both former sales representatives of HKCD, earlier pleaded guilty to a total of six charges – five of offering an advantage to an agent and one of conspiracy for an agent to solicit an advantage. Their case was adjourned to March 6 for mention.HKCD has rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case. 06
Feb 2024Director of furniture company charged by ICAC for bribing bank employee for maintaining accountA director of a furniture company was charged by the ICAC yesterday (February 5) for allegedly offering a bribe of RMB5,000 to an employee of a bank for not terminating the corporate accounts of the company.Fu Jianguo, 41, sole director-cum-shareholder of Haofeng Furniture Group Co., Limited (Haofeng Furniture), faces one count of offering an advantage to an agent, contrary to Section 9(2)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. He was released on ICAC bail, pending his appearance at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (February 7) for plea.Haofeng Furniture was registered in Hong Kong and the defendant was the sole authorised signatory of its five corporate accounts held with DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited (DBS Bank). After conducting a review in December 2020, DBS Bank informed Haofeng Furniture in writing that its accounts would be terminated by the end of March 2021 and requested it to withdraw the balances in the accounts.It is alleged that on or about March 10, 2021, the defendant offered a bribe of RMB5,000 to a centre manager of DBS Bank for maintaining Haofeng Furniture’s bank accounts.The centre manager turned down the defendant’s request and DBS Bank eventually terminated the accounts of Haofeng Furniture.The defendant was arrested when he visited Hong Kong in late August 2023, and was charged yesterday upon ICAC’s receipt of legal advice from the Department of Justice recently.DBS Bank has rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the cases.The ICAC reminds business operators not to bribe bank staff in exchange for its services. The ICAC has recently launched the “Corruption Prevention Guide for Banks” to enhance the corruption prevention capabilities of banks and assist banks in reducing corruption risks in core operations, including management of bank accounts. To promote probity culture in the banking sector, an Ethics Promotion Programme for the Banking Industry was also launched to help managerial and other ranks of bank staff understand common corruption loopholes.
Feb 2024Company vice president charged by ICAC for soliciting $2m bribe over property development project disputeThe vice president of a company was charged by the ICAC yesterday (February 28) for allegedly soliciting a bribe of $2 million to $3 million from a business partner for assisting to resolve a dispute between the two parties over a property development project on terms most favourable to the business partner.Wang Wenning, 64, vice president of China Coal Hong Kong Limited (CCHK, formerly known as Double Resources Limited), faces one count of agent soliciting an advantage, contrary to Section 9(1)(b) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. He was released on ICAC bail, pending his appearance at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (March 1) for plea.In 1994, the parent company of CCHK planned to jointly invest in a property development project with the business partner and capital injection would be made by CCHK. CCHK subsequently intended to withdraw from the project but the two parties failed to reach a final agreement.Since 2018, CCHK and the business partner had a dispute over the amount of money entitled by CCHK regarding the realisable assets of the project. The defendant was assigned to resolve the dispute.It is alleged that on October 8, 2018, the defendant solicited from a director-cum- shareholder of the business partner a bribe between $2 million and $3 million for assisting to resolve the dispute on terms and conditions most favourable to the business partner. The solicitation was declined.CCHK does not allow its employees to solicit or accept advantages from others in relation to CCHK’s affairs and business.CCHK and the business partner concerned have rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case. 28
Feb 2024Trio charged by ICAC admit roles in $37.5m critical illness insurance compensation fraud at High CourtAn insurance agent and two others, who were charged by the ICAC after a corruption investigation revealed their roles in a $37.5 million critical illness insurance compensation scam in which cancer patients were posed as policyholders to undergo medical examinations at clinical institutions to obtain medical certificates, today (February 28) pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud at the High Court.Wong Ka-keung, 45, former insurance agent of AIA International Limited (AIA); Lo Chun-kit, 45, driver; and Leung Wai-kin, 42, renovation worker, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to Common Law. Wong further admitted four similar offences and three counts of forgery, contrary to Section 71 of the Crimes Ordinance.Madam Justice Anna Lai Yuen-kee adjourned the case to Friday (March 1) for sentence. Wong and Leung were remanded in the custody of the Correctional Services Department while Lo was granted bail.The court heard that since mid-December 2017, Wong and Lo had been discussing how to make false insurance claims for Lo. They agreed that Lo would take out a high coverage critical illness policy while the premium would be paid by Wong. Lo subsequently took out two insurance policies from AIA through Wong.Wong and Lo then recruited Leung, who was a lymphoma patient, through middlemen to pose as Lo to attend medical examinations at various clinical institutions. After obtaining the required medical certificates confirming that Lo was diagnosed with cancer, critical illness and medical expenses claims were made to AIA, resulting in payments totalling over $9.8 million.Upon receiving the compensations, Lo passed about $7 million to Wong. Apart from enjoying 37 sessions of free medical examinations or treatments, Leung received $32,000 from Wong.ICAC investigation also revealed that Wong deployed similar fraudulent means to arrange other patients diagnosed with throat, breast, stomach and ovarian cancer to pose as him and two other policyholders to undergo examinations at various clinical institutions, so as to facilitate Wong and the two policyholders to file critical illness and medical expenses claims with AIA in relation to eight insurance policies handled by Wong for compensations totalling about $24.7 million.Wong also made three false certificates of sickness with the intention that one of the cancer patients could use them to apply for a two-year sick leave with her employer.AIA had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation.The prosecution was today represented by Senior Public Prosecutor Audrey Parwani, assisted by ICAC officers Jeff Chow and Romeo Chu.The ICAC had earlier charged one of the policyholders Liao Xiaoyi and her younger sister Liao Xiaoling in separate cases. Liao Xiaoling was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts last October after pleading guilty to two counts of incitement to commit forgery. Liao Xiaoyi, who faced two counts of conspiracy to defraud, will appear at the District Court for mention next Monday (March 4).The ICAC reminds insurance intermediaries to uphold integrity while members of public and policyholders should not take part in any insurance-related corrupt and illegal activities. The ICAC collaborated with the insurance industry to compile the “Corruption Prevention Guide for Insurance Companies” which assisted insurance companies in building and strengthening their corruption prevention capabilities in key operational areas such as claims verification. The ICAC will continue to collaborate with the industry in providing integrity training to insurance intermediaries. Information is available at the “Ethics Promotion Website for the Insurance Industry” produced by the Hong Kong Business Ethics Development Centre. 09
Feb 2024Property officer charged by ICAC jailed for four months for conspiring with renovation contractor to deceive IOThe ICAC had earlier charged a then property officer of a property management company and a renovation contractor as a corruption investigation revealed that they had conspired together to deceive the Incorporated Owners (IO) of a private residential building in To Kwa Wan into awarding a water pipe replacement project to the contractor by using false quotations. The property officer was today (February 9) sentenced to four months’ imprisonment at the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts.Lau Cheuk-yan, 42, former property officer of Harbourfield Property Management Limited (Harbourfield), was earlier convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to the Common Law.In sentencing, Magistrate Mr Philip Chan Chee-fai remarked that the court had to impose a custodial sentence on Lau for showing no remorse for orchestrating a scam which excluded other companies from participating in the works tendering exercise concerned.Co-defendant Chan Kam-wah, 57, director-cum-shareholder of Hing Fat Building Maintenance Company Limited (Hing Fat), was earlier jailed for two months and two weeks after pleading guilty to the conspiracy to defraud charge; and three counts of possessing a false instrument, contrary to section 75(2) of the Crimes Ordinance.At the material time, Harbourfield provided property management service to Sunny Court, a private residential building in To Kwa Wan. Staff of Harbourfield were required to source at least three quotations from its approved contractors before conducting any renovation works worth between $10,000 and $200,000.In 2021, Harbourfield conducted a quotation exercise for the Sunny Court to select a renovation contractor for a water pipe replacement project. The IO of Sunny Court received three quotations via Lau. In May 2021, the project was awarded to Hing Fat, which offered the lowest bid of $70,000.The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint. Enquiries revealed that the two engineering companies concerned were not approved contractors of Harbourfield and they had never submitted the two quotations. But Lau and Chan conspired together to defraud the IO of Sunny Court by submitting the two false quotations. It was also revealed that Chan possessed three other false quotations purportedly issued by one of the two engineering companies to another residential building, a commercial building and a shopping mall.Harbourfield and the IO of Sunny Court had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.The prosecution was today represented by Senior Public Prosecutor Steven Liu, assisted by ICAC officer Potina Koo.The ICAC attaches great importance to the integrity standard of the property management industry. Staff of property management companies are reminded to uphold a high standard of integrity and abide by the laws. The ICAC has recently launched the “Corruption Prevention Guide for Property Management Companies” to enhance the corruption prevention capabilities of property management companies and assist property management companies in managing corruption risks in providing property management services, including assisting IOs in carrying out procurement for renovation works. 07
Feb 2024Ex-assistant general manager of newspaper company’s advertising department faces five additional bribery chargesA former assistant general manager of the advertising department of a newspaper company, earlier charged by the ICAC for soliciting bribes from subordinates, was yesterday (February 6) charged with five additional counts of bribery charges for accepting bribes of about $88,000 from two subordinates upon their receipt of commissions from the company for securing event sponsorships.Daniel Wu Hang-chi, also known as Wu Che-hang, 43, former assistant general manager of the advertising department of Hong Kong Commercial Daily (HKCD), was charged in March last year with three counts of conspiracy for an agent to solicit an advantage, contrary to Section 9(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (POBO) and Section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance.Upon receipt of further legal advice from the Department of Justice, the defendant was yesterday charged with five counts of agent accepting an advantage, contrary to Section 9(1)(a) of the POBO. He was released on bail, pending his appearance at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (February 8) for mention, when the case will be transferred to the District Court.At that time, Wu was the assistant general manager of the advertising department of HKCD. He was responsible for overseeing the operations of the department, supervising sales representatives, and assisting sales representatives to secure event sponsorships. Sales representatives were entitled to 10 per cent of the sponsorships they secured as commission. Wu would receive bonuses after each event or at the end of the year, subject to the profits made, but he was not entitled to share the commissions of the sales representatives. Meanwhile, HKCD did not allow its staff to solicit or accept any advantage in relation to its business.The five additional charges alleged that between January 2020 and January 2022, Wu accepted five bribes totalling about $88,000 from two sales representatives for assisting them to obtain sponsorships for the events.The three charges earlier laid against Wu alleged that he conspired together with one of the sales representatives to solicit three bribes totalling about $35,000 from two other sales representatives for assisting the latter to obtain event sponsorships. The requests were eventually turned down.At the material time, the four sales representatives secured various sponsorships totalling over $3.5 million for four events.Co-defendants Lee Kwok-wai and Ngo Kam-fai, both former sales representatives of HKCD, earlier pleaded guilty to a total of six charges – five of offering an advantage to an agent and one of conspiracy for an agent to solicit an advantage. Their case was adjourned to March 6 for mention.HKCD has rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case. 06
Feb 2024Director of furniture company charged by ICAC for bribing bank employee for maintaining accountA director of a furniture company was charged by the ICAC yesterday (February 5) for allegedly offering a bribe of RMB5,000 to an employee of a bank for not terminating the corporate accounts of the company.Fu Jianguo, 41, sole director-cum-shareholder of Haofeng Furniture Group Co., Limited (Haofeng Furniture), faces one count of offering an advantage to an agent, contrary to Section 9(2)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. He was released on ICAC bail, pending his appearance at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (February 7) for plea.Haofeng Furniture was registered in Hong Kong and the defendant was the sole authorised signatory of its five corporate accounts held with DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited (DBS Bank). After conducting a review in December 2020, DBS Bank informed Haofeng Furniture in writing that its accounts would be terminated by the end of March 2021 and requested it to withdraw the balances in the accounts.It is alleged that on or about March 10, 2021, the defendant offered a bribe of RMB5,000 to a centre manager of DBS Bank for maintaining Haofeng Furniture’s bank accounts.The centre manager turned down the defendant’s request and DBS Bank eventually terminated the accounts of Haofeng Furniture.The defendant was arrested when he visited Hong Kong in late August 2023, and was charged yesterday upon ICAC’s receipt of legal advice from the Department of Justice recently.DBS Bank has rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the cases.The ICAC reminds business operators not to bribe bank staff in exchange for its services. The ICAC has recently launched the “Corruption Prevention Guide for Banks” to enhance the corruption prevention capabilities of banks and assist banks in reducing corruption risks in core operations, including management of bank accounts. To promote probity culture in the banking sector, an Ethics Promotion Programme for the Banking Industry was also launched to help managerial and other ranks of bank staff understand common corruption loopholes.