Former community centre head gets two years for $160,000 allowance fraud
2001-8-16
A former head of a community centre was today (Thursday) sentenced to two years in prison for deceiving the Employees Retraining Board (ERB) of about $160,000 in allowances and tutor fees.
The District Court heard that former person-in-charge of the Holy Carpenter Church Community Centre (HCCCC) Bonny Lee Tat-shing, 34, had falsely represented that the girlfriend and mother of his subordinate, Yiu Sai-hoi, had taught retraining courses.
Lee today pleaded guilty before Deputy Judge Eddie Yip to a total of 21 charges, including procuring the making of a bank record by deception, conspiracy to procure the making of a bank record by deception, and conspiracy to defraud.
HCCCC is one of the organizations commissioned by ERB to conduct employee retraining courses, which are fully funded by ERB.
The defendant was responsible for the overall operation and management of HCCCC, while Yiu was then a project manager.
The case arose from a corruption complaint, alleging that Lee might have accepted bribes for allowing his subordinate to inflate the cost of computer training courses to deceive ERB. ICAC inquiries revealed the deception and conspiracy offences.
The court heard that between December 1996 and December 1997, the defendant and Yiu had, on seven occasions, submitted requests forms to HCCC, falsely representing that Yiu's mother Leung Kit-lei was entitled to tutor fees, totalling $42,720, for teaching Chinese computer courses,.
On May 1, 1999, the two further conspired to falsely claim to HCCCC that Leung was a part-time co-ordinator of the centre's summer classes, and was entitled to $54,139 in rewards. In fact, Leung did not perform any duty.
Between April and October 1999, the defendant and Yiu had, on nine occasions, falsely represented to HCCCC that Yiu's girlfriend Leung Yuet-ming was a tutor of the centre and was entitled to $63,100 in tutor fees.
Investigations revealed that Leung Yuet-ming, who once taught at the centre, was no longer a staff there by that time.
The court heard that on each occasion, the defendant and Yiu shared the payment issued by HCCCC.
The court also heard that the two jointly purchased 40 sets of computers in the end of 1997.
Between January 1998 and January last year, they conspired to arrange Sun Way Office System, of which Yiu was a shareholder, to enter into agreements with HCCCC to run computer courses, and to rent those computer sets they purchased to HCCCC. Neither of them declared their interests in the company and the computer sets.
As a result, they obtained a profit of $2 million in total through the dishonest arrangement.
Yiu was also jailed for two years after admitting similar offences earlier.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Government Counsel Christal Chan, assisted by ICAC officer Alan Pang.
The District Court heard that former person-in-charge of the Holy Carpenter Church Community Centre (HCCCC) Bonny Lee Tat-shing, 34, had falsely represented that the girlfriend and mother of his subordinate, Yiu Sai-hoi, had taught retraining courses.
Lee today pleaded guilty before Deputy Judge Eddie Yip to a total of 21 charges, including procuring the making of a bank record by deception, conspiracy to procure the making of a bank record by deception, and conspiracy to defraud.
HCCCC is one of the organizations commissioned by ERB to conduct employee retraining courses, which are fully funded by ERB.
The defendant was responsible for the overall operation and management of HCCCC, while Yiu was then a project manager.
The case arose from a corruption complaint, alleging that Lee might have accepted bribes for allowing his subordinate to inflate the cost of computer training courses to deceive ERB. ICAC inquiries revealed the deception and conspiracy offences.
The court heard that between December 1996 and December 1997, the defendant and Yiu had, on seven occasions, submitted requests forms to HCCC, falsely representing that Yiu's mother Leung Kit-lei was entitled to tutor fees, totalling $42,720, for teaching Chinese computer courses,.
On May 1, 1999, the two further conspired to falsely claim to HCCCC that Leung was a part-time co-ordinator of the centre's summer classes, and was entitled to $54,139 in rewards. In fact, Leung did not perform any duty.
Between April and October 1999, the defendant and Yiu had, on nine occasions, falsely represented to HCCCC that Yiu's girlfriend Leung Yuet-ming was a tutor of the centre and was entitled to $63,100 in tutor fees.
Investigations revealed that Leung Yuet-ming, who once taught at the centre, was no longer a staff there by that time.
The court heard that on each occasion, the defendant and Yiu shared the payment issued by HCCCC.
The court also heard that the two jointly purchased 40 sets of computers in the end of 1997.
Between January 1998 and January last year, they conspired to arrange Sun Way Office System, of which Yiu was a shareholder, to enter into agreements with HCCCC to run computer courses, and to rent those computer sets they purchased to HCCCC. Neither of them declared their interests in the company and the computer sets.
As a result, they obtained a profit of $2 million in total through the dishonest arrangement.
Yiu was also jailed for two years after admitting similar offences earlier.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Government Counsel Christal Chan, assisted by ICAC officer Alan Pang.