Trio guilty of fraud over exploitation of wages
2005-12-23
Three senior executives of a cleaning company, charged by the ICAC, were today (Friday) convicted at the District Court of their roles in a fraud to deceive the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) over the wages paid to cleaning workers under a LCSD contract.
Yu Lai-yin, 42, general manager of Yu's Tin Sing Enterprise Co. Ltd. (Yu's Tin Sing); Ng Lam-tim, 51, and So Mun-yu, 28, respectively contract manager and district manager of Yu's Tin Sing, were found guilty on one count of conspiracy to defraud LCSD.
Deputy Judge William Ng adjourned sentencing to January 21, 2006, pending background reports. Yu was granted bail of $150,000 in cash, while Ng and So were allowed cash bail of $80,000 and $50,000 respectively. They were also ordered not to leave Hong K ong.
The defendants were arrested in a corruption investigation referred by LCSD. Subsequent inquiries revealed the fraudulent scam.
The court heard that in December 2003, Yu's Tin Sing, upon tender, was awarded a LCSD contract to provide cleansing services in recreational sites managed by LCSD in Kwun Tong District.
The tender document, which formed part of the binding contract, stipulated that each worker employed by Yu's Tin Sing was to be paid not less than $5,081 each month.
However, ICAC inquiries revealed that the workers were paid much less than the stipulated wages.
To conceal from LCSD that the workers were underpaid, the defendants had falsely stated in the Wages Monthly Returns (WMR) submitted to LCSD that the workers had been paid at or above the stipulated wages.
The court heard that the defendants had demanded the workers to sign on the WMR forms, where the relevant columns stating the stipulated wages and the actual payment received were either left blank or hidden from their sight.
Later on, Ng, together with a number of staff of Yu's Tin Sing, also demanded the workers to sign documents purporting to acknowledge receipt of the wage differences, the court was told.
Believing that Yu's Tin Sing had complied with the terms of the contract, LCSD was misled into paying the contract fees for the months of January and February 2004, totalling over $1.3 million, to Yu's Tin Sing.
The prosecution was today represented by Juliana Chow, counsel on fiat, assisted by ICAC officer Annie Cheung.
Yu Lai-yin, 42, general manager of Yu's Tin Sing Enterprise Co. Ltd. (Yu's Tin Sing); Ng Lam-tim, 51, and So Mun-yu, 28, respectively contract manager and district manager of Yu's Tin Sing, were found guilty on one count of conspiracy to defraud LCSD.
Deputy Judge William Ng adjourned sentencing to January 21, 2006, pending background reports. Yu was granted bail of $150,000 in cash, while Ng and So were allowed cash bail of $80,000 and $50,000 respectively. They were also ordered not to leave Hong K ong.
The defendants were arrested in a corruption investigation referred by LCSD. Subsequent inquiries revealed the fraudulent scam.
The court heard that in December 2003, Yu's Tin Sing, upon tender, was awarded a LCSD contract to provide cleansing services in recreational sites managed by LCSD in Kwun Tong District.
The tender document, which formed part of the binding contract, stipulated that each worker employed by Yu's Tin Sing was to be paid not less than $5,081 each month.
However, ICAC inquiries revealed that the workers were paid much less than the stipulated wages.
To conceal from LCSD that the workers were underpaid, the defendants had falsely stated in the Wages Monthly Returns (WMR) submitted to LCSD that the workers had been paid at or above the stipulated wages.
The court heard that the defendants had demanded the workers to sign on the WMR forms, where the relevant columns stating the stipulated wages and the actual payment received were either left blank or hidden from their sight.
Later on, Ng, together with a number of staff of Yu's Tin Sing, also demanded the workers to sign documents purporting to acknowledge receipt of the wage differences, the court was told.
Believing that Yu's Tin Sing had complied with the terms of the contract, LCSD was misled into paying the contract fees for the months of January and February 2004, totalling over $1.3 million, to Yu's Tin Sing.
The prosecution was today represented by Juliana Chow, counsel on fiat, assisted by ICAC officer Annie Cheung.