Man jailed for voting offence at Rural Representative Election
2016-3-16
A registered voter was today (Wednesday) sentenced to two months’ imprisonment at the Tuen Mun Magistracy after admitting an ICAC charge of engaging in corrupt conduct by voting at the 2015 Rural Representative (Resident Representative) Election for Mai Po Tsuen in Yuen Long (the Election).
Sammy Leung Hon-sang, 39, an operation supervisor of Fat Fai Logistics Limited (FFL), pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in corrupt conduct with respect to voting at the Election, contrary to Section 16(1)(b)(i) of the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance (ECICO), while the prosecution offered no evidence to the other related charge against him.
In passing the sentence, Magistrate Ms Winnie Lau Yee-wan said engaging in corrupt conduct at an election was a serious offence, thus warranting a deterrent custodial sentence.
The magistrate added that she reduced the starting point of three months in jail by one-third after taking into account the defendant’s guilty plea.
The court heard that on July 16, 2014, the Home Affairs Department (HAD) received the defendant’s application for voter registration of the Village Representative (Resident Representative) Election.
In the application, an address in Mai Po Tsuen (the address) was provided as the defendant’s principal residential address. The defendant also declared in the application that he had been a resident of Mai Po Tsuen since March 2011 and for the preceding three years before his application.
After the HAD received the application with no request for amendment or objection, the defendant was included in the Final Register of the Election.
The court heard that on January 5, 2015, the HAD issued a polling notice to the defendant, informing him of the location of the polling station.
The defendant was also reminded on the polling notice that a registered elector for an existing village must have been a resident of that village for the preceding three years before registration. If the registered elector no longer resided in the village, he was no longer eligible to remain registered as an elector. It was an offence if he voted at the election.
On January 18, 2015, the polling day, the defendant arrived at the polling station and applied for a ballot paper from a polling officer. Before the defendant was issued the ballot paper, he was given a written notice bearing the reminder. After the defendant replied that he had read and understood the notice, the polling officer issued a ballot paper to him.
According to the ECICO, any person who had been issued a ballot paper would be regarded as having voted at the respective election, the court heard.
ICAC enquiries revealed that the defendant joined FFL as an operation supervisor in June 2009, and his normal working hours were between 10 am to 7 pm from Monday to Saturday. The registered office of FFL was situated at the address.
The defendant signed employment contracts with FFL and its associated company, but there was no mention of providing accommodation to the defendant in those contracts. In his job applications to the two companies, he provided an address in Tuen Mun and an address on the Mainland as his residential address respectively.
Records of the Immigration Department showed that between January 1, 2011 and January 18, 2015, the defendant mostly came to Hong Kong on working days and returned to the Mainland on the same days, and that he had never stayed overnight in Hong Kong since January 1, 2011, the court was told.
The HAD had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Public Prosecutor Jonathan Lin, assisted by ICAC officer Simon Liu.
Sammy Leung Hon-sang, 39, an operation supervisor of Fat Fai Logistics Limited (FFL), pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in corrupt conduct with respect to voting at the Election, contrary to Section 16(1)(b)(i) of the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance (ECICO), while the prosecution offered no evidence to the other related charge against him.
In passing the sentence, Magistrate Ms Winnie Lau Yee-wan said engaging in corrupt conduct at an election was a serious offence, thus warranting a deterrent custodial sentence.
The magistrate added that she reduced the starting point of three months in jail by one-third after taking into account the defendant’s guilty plea.
The court heard that on July 16, 2014, the Home Affairs Department (HAD) received the defendant’s application for voter registration of the Village Representative (Resident Representative) Election.
In the application, an address in Mai Po Tsuen (the address) was provided as the defendant’s principal residential address. The defendant also declared in the application that he had been a resident of Mai Po Tsuen since March 2011 and for the preceding three years before his application.
After the HAD received the application with no request for amendment or objection, the defendant was included in the Final Register of the Election.
The court heard that on January 5, 2015, the HAD issued a polling notice to the defendant, informing him of the location of the polling station.
The defendant was also reminded on the polling notice that a registered elector for an existing village must have been a resident of that village for the preceding three years before registration. If the registered elector no longer resided in the village, he was no longer eligible to remain registered as an elector. It was an offence if he voted at the election.
On January 18, 2015, the polling day, the defendant arrived at the polling station and applied for a ballot paper from a polling officer. Before the defendant was issued the ballot paper, he was given a written notice bearing the reminder. After the defendant replied that he had read and understood the notice, the polling officer issued a ballot paper to him.
According to the ECICO, any person who had been issued a ballot paper would be regarded as having voted at the respective election, the court heard.
ICAC enquiries revealed that the defendant joined FFL as an operation supervisor in June 2009, and his normal working hours were between 10 am to 7 pm from Monday to Saturday. The registered office of FFL was situated at the address.
The defendant signed employment contracts with FFL and its associated company, but there was no mention of providing accommodation to the defendant in those contracts. In his job applications to the two companies, he provided an address in Tuen Mun and an address on the Mainland as his residential address respectively.
Records of the Immigration Department showed that between January 1, 2011 and January 18, 2015, the defendant mostly came to Hong Kong on working days and returned to the Mainland on the same days, and that he had never stayed overnight in Hong Kong since January 1, 2011, the court was told.
The HAD had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Public Prosecutor Jonathan Lin, assisted by ICAC officer Simon Liu.