Eight months' jail for bribing loan officer
2000-3-15
A middleman in a loan scam was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment at Eastern Court today (Wednesday) for bribing an employee of a finance company to assist him in applying for loans with false documents.
Chan Wai-ho, 25, unemployed, absconded in 1996 after his arrest. When he entered into Hong Kong at the Lo Wu checkpoint last month, he was re-arrested by the ICAC.
Chan pleaded guilty to four counts of offering $11,000 in total to Lo Kim-lung, a loan officer of Promise (Hong Kong) Company Limited (Promise), for Lo to process and recommend loan applications submitted by Chan and three of his friends.
He also admitted two counts of conspiracy to defraud Promise in obtaining two loans of $10,000 and $12,000 by furnishing false information in the loan applications submitted by Leung Wai-keung and Wong Wai-sun.
The offences took place between July and August 1995.
The court heard that in July 1995, Lo told the defendant that his friends could borrow loans from Promise by providing false personal information in their applications.
Lo requested a commission for every such application approved.
On July 17, 1995, the defendant gave Lo a reward of $500 after obtaining a $15,000 loan from Promise.
The defendant also asked three of his friends to submit loan applications containing false personal particulars.
They subsequently obtained $37,000 in loans from Promise, of which $10,500 was paid to Lo as "commissions".
ICAC investigations revealed that the defendant had pocketed a total of $19,200 in the scam.
Lo was earlier convicted after trial and was jailed for 18 months, while five other defendants charged in connection with the same investigation were respectively given jail terms up to nine months.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Government Counsel Frederick Chung, assisted by ICAC officer Kelvin Choi.
Chan Wai-ho, 25, unemployed, absconded in 1996 after his arrest. When he entered into Hong Kong at the Lo Wu checkpoint last month, he was re-arrested by the ICAC.
Chan pleaded guilty to four counts of offering $11,000 in total to Lo Kim-lung, a loan officer of Promise (Hong Kong) Company Limited (Promise), for Lo to process and recommend loan applications submitted by Chan and three of his friends.
He also admitted two counts of conspiracy to defraud Promise in obtaining two loans of $10,000 and $12,000 by furnishing false information in the loan applications submitted by Leung Wai-keung and Wong Wai-sun.
The offences took place between July and August 1995.
The court heard that in July 1995, Lo told the defendant that his friends could borrow loans from Promise by providing false personal information in their applications.
Lo requested a commission for every such application approved.
On July 17, 1995, the defendant gave Lo a reward of $500 after obtaining a $15,000 loan from Promise.
The defendant also asked three of his friends to submit loan applications containing false personal particulars.
They subsequently obtained $37,000 in loans from Promise, of which $10,500 was paid to Lo as "commissions".
ICAC investigations revealed that the defendant had pocketed a total of $19,200 in the scam.
Lo was earlier convicted after trial and was jailed for 18 months, while five other defendants charged in connection with the same investigation were respectively given jail terms up to nine months.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Government Counsel Frederick Chung, assisted by ICAC officer Kelvin Choi.