Taxi association duo admit vote buying & rigging in ITFC of 2016 LegCo Election
2021-5-31
A then corporate affairs director and a then clerk of a taxi association, charged by the ICAC, admitted at the District Court today (May 31) their roles in a vote buying and rigging scheme for about 240 persons to register as members of a professional organisation with false qualifications, facilitating them to vote for a particular candidate in the Information Technology Functional Constituency (ITFC) at the 2016 Legislative Council (LegCo) General Election.
Li Wai-man, 54, then corporate affairs director of the Taxi Drivers & Operators Association (TDOA); and Poon Sau-fong, 53, then clerk of TDOA; pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to Common Law. Co-defendant Wong Suen-lai, 46, then financial director of TDOA, who also faced the same charge, had the charge left on file at the District Court.
Li further pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to engage in corrupt conduct at an election by offering an advantage to others, contrary to Section 11(1)(a) of the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance and Section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance.
Judge Katherine Lo Kit-yee adjourned the case to August 26 for mitigation and granted Li and Poon cash bail.
The court heard that the 2016 LegCo General Election was held on September 4, 2016. Two candidates competed in the ITFC—one of the 29 functional constituencies in the LegCo.
A person, who was registered as an elector in a Geographical Constituency or was eligible and had applied to be so registered, was eligible to register as an elector in the ITFC with the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) if the person possessed the membership of a professional body specified in the LegCo Ordinance, including the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., Hong Kong Section (IEEE).
On April 7, 2016, Li sent a blank voter registration form to Poon via mobile phone message. About a week later, with Li’s knowledge, then executive committee member of TDOA Lui Ah-fook invited his younger sisters Lui Wai-fong, Lui Lai-fong and Lui Lai-mui via a mobile phone sibling chat group to join an “IT Club” for $1,000 each. Lui Ah-fook added that the trio were required to register as voters and vote as instructed in the ITFC of the 2016 LegCo General Election (the scheme).
As soon as Lui Wai-fong learned of the scheme, she extended invitation to her relatives, including her brother-in-law Chan Ki-nam, via another mobile phone family chat group. Lui Ah-fook’s son Lui King-yin also mentioned the scheme at two mobile phone chat groups with his schoolmates and associates.
After Lui Ah-fook, Lui Wai-fong and Lui King-yin gathered the personal particulars of 36 persons, Lui Ah-fook forwarded the consolidated information to Li on April 24, 2016.
In mid-April 2016, Li started to send personal particulars of a number of persons to Poon for IEEE membership registration. Between April 12 and May 1, 2016, about 240 persons, including Li, Poon, Wong and the aforesaid 36 persons associated with the Luis, were registered as full members of the IEEE with false information about their professional qualification, education and/or experience.
The court heard that membership fees of those IEEE applications, totalling about US$32,000 (about HK$250,000), were paid by Poon with credit cards of a then vice secretary.
Between April 30 and May 2, 2016, the REO received the voter registration forms of 124 persons, all carrying the same typo misspelling “Engineers” in the full name of IEEE as “Enginess”. Based on their IEEE memberships, 118 of them were included in the 2016 Final Register of Electors of the ITFC.
Before the polling day, Li sent a message to Lui Ah-fook and Lui Wai-fong via a mobile phone chat group called “IE Group”, urging them to vote for Yeung Chuen-sing, a candidate competing in the ITFC at the 2016 LegCo General Election. On the polling day, Lui Wai-fong and Lui King-yin made the same appeal to participants in several mobile phone chat groups.
The court heard that 19 out of the aforesaid 36 persons associated with the Luis had applied for ballot papers, including those for the ITFC, at their respective polling stations. Yeung’s rival was elected in the ITFC at the 2016 LegCo General Election.
Co-defendants Lui Ah-fook, Lui Wai-fong, Lui King-yin and Chan Ki-nam, who admitted last Tuesday (May 25) their roles in the scheme, will also appear in court on August 26 for mitigation.
The REO had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions David Chan, prosecuting counsel Newman Wong and Arthur Wong, and Public Prosecutor Dimitri Au-Yeung, assisted by ICAC officer Joseph Leung.
Li Wai-man, 54, then corporate affairs director of the Taxi Drivers & Operators Association (TDOA); and Poon Sau-fong, 53, then clerk of TDOA; pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to Common Law. Co-defendant Wong Suen-lai, 46, then financial director of TDOA, who also faced the same charge, had the charge left on file at the District Court.
Li further pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to engage in corrupt conduct at an election by offering an advantage to others, contrary to Section 11(1)(a) of the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance and Section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance.
Judge Katherine Lo Kit-yee adjourned the case to August 26 for mitigation and granted Li and Poon cash bail.
The court heard that the 2016 LegCo General Election was held on September 4, 2016. Two candidates competed in the ITFC—one of the 29 functional constituencies in the LegCo.
A person, who was registered as an elector in a Geographical Constituency or was eligible and had applied to be so registered, was eligible to register as an elector in the ITFC with the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) if the person possessed the membership of a professional body specified in the LegCo Ordinance, including the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., Hong Kong Section (IEEE).
On April 7, 2016, Li sent a blank voter registration form to Poon via mobile phone message. About a week later, with Li’s knowledge, then executive committee member of TDOA Lui Ah-fook invited his younger sisters Lui Wai-fong, Lui Lai-fong and Lui Lai-mui via a mobile phone sibling chat group to join an “IT Club” for $1,000 each. Lui Ah-fook added that the trio were required to register as voters and vote as instructed in the ITFC of the 2016 LegCo General Election (the scheme).
As soon as Lui Wai-fong learned of the scheme, she extended invitation to her relatives, including her brother-in-law Chan Ki-nam, via another mobile phone family chat group. Lui Ah-fook’s son Lui King-yin also mentioned the scheme at two mobile phone chat groups with his schoolmates and associates.
After Lui Ah-fook, Lui Wai-fong and Lui King-yin gathered the personal particulars of 36 persons, Lui Ah-fook forwarded the consolidated information to Li on April 24, 2016.
In mid-April 2016, Li started to send personal particulars of a number of persons to Poon for IEEE membership registration. Between April 12 and May 1, 2016, about 240 persons, including Li, Poon, Wong and the aforesaid 36 persons associated with the Luis, were registered as full members of the IEEE with false information about their professional qualification, education and/or experience.
The court heard that membership fees of those IEEE applications, totalling about US$32,000 (about HK$250,000), were paid by Poon with credit cards of a then vice secretary.
Between April 30 and May 2, 2016, the REO received the voter registration forms of 124 persons, all carrying the same typo misspelling “Engineers” in the full name of IEEE as “Enginess”. Based on their IEEE memberships, 118 of them were included in the 2016 Final Register of Electors of the ITFC.
Before the polling day, Li sent a message to Lui Ah-fook and Lui Wai-fong via a mobile phone chat group called “IE Group”, urging them to vote for Yeung Chuen-sing, a candidate competing in the ITFC at the 2016 LegCo General Election. On the polling day, Lui Wai-fong and Lui King-yin made the same appeal to participants in several mobile phone chat groups.
The court heard that 19 out of the aforesaid 36 persons associated with the Luis had applied for ballot papers, including those for the ITFC, at their respective polling stations. Yeung’s rival was elected in the ITFC at the 2016 LegCo General Election.
Co-defendants Lui Ah-fook, Lui Wai-fong, Lui King-yin and Chan Ki-nam, who admitted last Tuesday (May 25) their roles in the scheme, will also appear in court on August 26 for mitigation.
The REO had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions David Chan, prosecuting counsel Newman Wong and Arthur Wong, and Public Prosecutor Dimitri Au-Yeung, assisted by ICAC officer Joseph Leung.