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Case Studies
Poor financial management that leads to risk-taking
Ronald worked in an estate agency. His employer trusted him and provided him with training; yet Ronald felt he could have done better. Ronald planned to marry his girlfriend in a year’s time. To prepare for the costly wedding, he applied for a huge loan from a finance company, putting himself in a position where he had to work very hard to repay the debt. After successfully renting out Ms Yeung’s flat at $30,000 per month, Ronald asked Ms Yeung to deposit the $15,000 commission into the bank account of a consultancy firm which was set up by himself. Ronald also lied about the consultancy firm being a subsidiary of the estate agency which he worked for. To conceal the whereabouts of the commission, Ronald submitted a false report to his employer stating that Ms Yeung’s tenancy transaction had been facilitated by a consultancy firm and Ms Yeung would only be willing to pay commission to the consultancy firm. Ronald’s employer was suspicious about these arrangements and checked the consultancy firm’s details. Ronald’s dishonest act was revealed and a report was made to the ICAC.
Case Analysis
Ronald had become entangled in debt and deliberately used his own consultancy firm to embezzle commission due to his employer. Under Section 9(3) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (POBO), it is an offence for any agent to use false/ erroneous/ defective receipt/ account/ other document with the intent to deceive his principal. Ronald wilfully used a false document with intent to mislead the estate agency about Ms Yeung’s transaction. He might violate Section 9(3) of the POBO.
Ronald was disloyal to his employer. He defied the law out of greed and ruined his own future.
As a licensed estate agent, Ronald might also breach the Code of Ethics of the Estate Agents Authority which states that estate agents and salespersons shall refrain from activities during their practice which may infringe the law.