Chief Customs Officer of C&E admits housing allowance fraud revealed in ICAC graft probe
2023-1-17
In the course of a corruption investigation, the ICAC had earlier revealed that a Chief Customs Officer of the Customs and Excise Department (C&E) had defrauded the Government of housing allowance totalling over $160,000 by making false representations about his compliance of the relevant live-in requirement. The defendant admitted his fraudulent acts at the Tuen Mun Magistrates’ Courts today (January 17).
Pang Tsz-hong, 45, Chief Customs Officer of the C&E, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud, contrary to Section 16A of the Theft Ordinance, and one count of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to Common Law. The same conspiracy charge against Pang’s mother, Tang Yuk-fong, 68, retiree, was withdrawn.
Magistrate Mr Raymond Wong Kwok-fai adjourned the case to March 1 for sentence, pending the background and community service order reports of Pang. Pang was granted bail.
The court heard that in January 2017, Pang submitted an application to the Treasury for housing allowance under the Home Purchase Scheme (HPS) in relation to a property in Yuen Long co-owned by him and Tang. Pang was a Senior Customs Officer when he made the application. He was promoted to Chief Customs Officer in February 2019.
Under the HPS, an eligible civil servant would be granted a monthly allowance to repay the mortgage loan of a residential property for a maximum of 120 months. In accordance with the relevant rules and guidelines, an applicant was required to live in the property, while letting or subletting of the property was prohibited.
Pang’s application was approved by the Treasury and a monthly allowance of about $3,900 had been granted to him since June 2017. In October 2020, the Treasury found the correspondence address shown on Pang’s annual statement of his mortgage loan account was different from the abovementioned address. On suspicion that Pang might have violated the live-in requirement, the Treasury commenced an enquiry and asked Pang to provide a written confirmation of his compliance of the live-in requirement, copies of water and electricity bills, etc.
Pang replied that he had complied with the live-in requirement and submitted water and electricity bills to the Treasury. Both bills were registered in the name of another person but Pang falsely claimed that the person was a distant relative who had once resided in the property and had already moved out. The applications for change of the account name to Pang for water and electricity supply were also submitted.
The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint referred by the Treasury. Enquiries revealed that between August 2016 and February 2021, Tang had rented out the property to different tenants, while Pang resided in another premises. The person Pang claimed to be his distant relative was in fact one of the tenants.
Upon the instructions of Pang, Tang requested the tenant to change the registered user of water and electricity accounts in respect of the property to Pang in light of the enquiry conducted by the Treasury. Had the Treasury known that Pang had failed to comply with the live-in requirement, it would not have granted allowance totalling over $160,000 to him.
The C&E and the Treasury had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
An ICAC spokesperson reminds civil servants to uphold integrity and observe the relevant government regulations. Any intended flouting of the regulations would bring disrepute to the civil service, and the civil servants concerned would be subject to disciplinary and legal actions.
The prosecution was today represented by ICAC officer Nicole Law.
Pang Tsz-hong, 45, Chief Customs Officer of the C&E, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud, contrary to Section 16A of the Theft Ordinance, and one count of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to Common Law. The same conspiracy charge against Pang’s mother, Tang Yuk-fong, 68, retiree, was withdrawn.
Magistrate Mr Raymond Wong Kwok-fai adjourned the case to March 1 for sentence, pending the background and community service order reports of Pang. Pang was granted bail.
The court heard that in January 2017, Pang submitted an application to the Treasury for housing allowance under the Home Purchase Scheme (HPS) in relation to a property in Yuen Long co-owned by him and Tang. Pang was a Senior Customs Officer when he made the application. He was promoted to Chief Customs Officer in February 2019.
Under the HPS, an eligible civil servant would be granted a monthly allowance to repay the mortgage loan of a residential property for a maximum of 120 months. In accordance with the relevant rules and guidelines, an applicant was required to live in the property, while letting or subletting of the property was prohibited.
Pang’s application was approved by the Treasury and a monthly allowance of about $3,900 had been granted to him since June 2017. In October 2020, the Treasury found the correspondence address shown on Pang’s annual statement of his mortgage loan account was different from the abovementioned address. On suspicion that Pang might have violated the live-in requirement, the Treasury commenced an enquiry and asked Pang to provide a written confirmation of his compliance of the live-in requirement, copies of water and electricity bills, etc.
Pang replied that he had complied with the live-in requirement and submitted water and electricity bills to the Treasury. Both bills were registered in the name of another person but Pang falsely claimed that the person was a distant relative who had once resided in the property and had already moved out. The applications for change of the account name to Pang for water and electricity supply were also submitted.
The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint referred by the Treasury. Enquiries revealed that between August 2016 and February 2021, Tang had rented out the property to different tenants, while Pang resided in another premises. The person Pang claimed to be his distant relative was in fact one of the tenants.
Upon the instructions of Pang, Tang requested the tenant to change the registered user of water and electricity accounts in respect of the property to Pang in light of the enquiry conducted by the Treasury. Had the Treasury known that Pang had failed to comply with the live-in requirement, it would not have granted allowance totalling over $160,000 to him.
The C&E and the Treasury had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
An ICAC spokesperson reminds civil servants to uphold integrity and observe the relevant government regulations. Any intended flouting of the regulations would bring disrepute to the civil service, and the civil servants concerned would be subject to disciplinary and legal actions.
The prosecution was today represented by ICAC officer Nicole Law.