Eight charged for alleged $2.4m motor insurance fraud
2000-11-29
Eight persons, who had allegedly conspired to stage a spate of traffic accidents to swindle insurance claims totalling $2.4 million, were charged by the ICAC today (Wednesday).
The defendants were : Ng Kwok-wa, 39, partner of a garage; Kwok Wing-wah, 47; Yue Wai-man, 36; Or Chi-ming, 41; and Lin Ping-tung, 48, all drivers; Nip Wai-kwong, 32, garage worker; Wong Siu-hung, 35; and Chan Wing-keung, 43, both merchants.
They will appear at San Po Kong Court at 9:30 am tomorrow (Thursday) on a total of 19 charges.
The case arose from a corruption complaint alleging that some insurance assessors might have taken bribes to facilitate false claims of motor insurance.
The corruption allegation was found to be unsubstantiated. However, ICAC investigation uncovered a syndicate, which had allegedly arranged for a number of persons to intentionally crash their cars to claim insurance from various insurance companies.
Investigation also revealed that between 1996 and last year, the syndicate had made about 28 fraudulent motor insurance claims, totalling $2.4 million, against 11 insurance companies.
The defendants were amongst 22 arrested in an ICAC operation in January this year.
The eight face a total of 18 counts of conspiracy to defraud officers of the Hong Kong Police Force by prejudicing them in the exercise of their public duties, and various insurance companies by dishonestly :
- deliberately damaging certain motor vehicles;
- falsely making reports to the Hong Kong Police Force that there were accidents involving those motor vehicles;
- falsely making insurance claims for damages sustained by those vehicles; and
- falsely causing the insurance companies to pay compensation.
Yue Wai-man was further charged with one count of procuring the making of an entry of $11,996.8 into a bank account by deception.
He was said to have falsely represented that there was an accident which occurred on February 9, 1999 at Kai Tin Road, Kwun Tong, involving a vehicle driven by himself.
All defendants are on ICAC bail, pending their court appearances tomorrow.
The defendants were : Ng Kwok-wa, 39, partner of a garage; Kwok Wing-wah, 47; Yue Wai-man, 36; Or Chi-ming, 41; and Lin Ping-tung, 48, all drivers; Nip Wai-kwong, 32, garage worker; Wong Siu-hung, 35; and Chan Wing-keung, 43, both merchants.
They will appear at San Po Kong Court at 9:30 am tomorrow (Thursday) on a total of 19 charges.
The case arose from a corruption complaint alleging that some insurance assessors might have taken bribes to facilitate false claims of motor insurance.
The corruption allegation was found to be unsubstantiated. However, ICAC investigation uncovered a syndicate, which had allegedly arranged for a number of persons to intentionally crash their cars to claim insurance from various insurance companies.
Investigation also revealed that between 1996 and last year, the syndicate had made about 28 fraudulent motor insurance claims, totalling $2.4 million, against 11 insurance companies.
The defendants were amongst 22 arrested in an ICAC operation in January this year.
The eight face a total of 18 counts of conspiracy to defraud officers of the Hong Kong Police Force by prejudicing them in the exercise of their public duties, and various insurance companies by dishonestly :
- deliberately damaging certain motor vehicles;
- falsely making reports to the Hong Kong Police Force that there were accidents involving those motor vehicles;
- falsely making insurance claims for damages sustained by those vehicles; and
- falsely causing the insurance companies to pay compensation.
Yue Wai-man was further charged with one count of procuring the making of an entry of $11,996.8 into a bank account by deception.
He was said to have falsely represented that there was an accident which occurred on February 9, 1999 at Kai Tin Road, Kwun Tong, involving a vehicle driven by himself.
All defendants are on ICAC bail, pending their court appearances tomorrow.