Manager and engineer convicted of construction fraud at Tung Chung project
2001-11-22
A construction manager was today (Thursday) found guilty of fraud over the use of reinforcement steel bars at a Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) project in Tung Chung.
The $761 million Housing Department (HD)’s project at Tung Chung Area 30 Phase 3 comprises four HOS blocks.
Chow Che-wai, 46, of Cheung Kee Fung Cheung Construction Company Limited (Cheung Kee), was today found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to defraud HD.
Chan Fung, 38, former quality control engineer of Cheung Kee, had pleaded guilty to the same charges in September this year.
Judge White adjourned sentencing Chow and Chan until this Saturday (November 24). Both are currently remanded in the custody of the Correctional Services Department.
The two defendants were convicted of conspiring with others to defraud HD by submitting false documents purporting to satisfy HD that non-compliant reinforcement steel bars had all been removed from the construction site at Tung Chung Area 30 Phase 3.
The offences took place between January 20 and March 27, 1999.
The ICAC commenced an investigation following a complaint alleging HD site staff of corruption in allowing the use of non-compliant building materials at the site.
The corruption allegation against HD staff was found to be unsubstantiated, while a construction scam was exposed.
Cheung Kee was the main contractor for the superstructure construction of the project. Strong Progress Limited and Long & Wide Development Limited were appointed reinforcement steel bar suppliers.
The court heard that four specified batches of reinforcement steel bars supplied by the two companies had failed either yield stress or mass density tests. The majority of them had not been returned to the suppliers. Instead they were used in the constr uction of the superstructure.
Chow and Chan had conspired with others to cause falsified documents including weighing dockets, customer receipts and photographs to be furnished to HD, purporting that the failed steel bars had been removed and returned to the suppliers.
HD later exposed parts of the superstructure and identified some of the failed bars that should not have been installed in the project.
The prosecution was today represented by Nicholas Adams on a fiat, assisted by ICAC officer Jason See.
The $761 million Housing Department (HD)’s project at Tung Chung Area 30 Phase 3 comprises four HOS blocks.
Chow Che-wai, 46, of Cheung Kee Fung Cheung Construction Company Limited (Cheung Kee), was today found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to defraud HD.
Chan Fung, 38, former quality control engineer of Cheung Kee, had pleaded guilty to the same charges in September this year.
Judge White adjourned sentencing Chow and Chan until this Saturday (November 24). Both are currently remanded in the custody of the Correctional Services Department.
The two defendants were convicted of conspiring with others to defraud HD by submitting false documents purporting to satisfy HD that non-compliant reinforcement steel bars had all been removed from the construction site at Tung Chung Area 30 Phase 3.
The offences took place between January 20 and March 27, 1999.
The ICAC commenced an investigation following a complaint alleging HD site staff of corruption in allowing the use of non-compliant building materials at the site.
The corruption allegation against HD staff was found to be unsubstantiated, while a construction scam was exposed.
Cheung Kee was the main contractor for the superstructure construction of the project. Strong Progress Limited and Long & Wide Development Limited were appointed reinforcement steel bar suppliers.
The court heard that four specified batches of reinforcement steel bars supplied by the two companies had failed either yield stress or mass density tests. The majority of them had not been returned to the suppliers. Instead they were used in the constr uction of the superstructure.
Chow and Chan had conspired with others to cause falsified documents including weighing dockets, customer receipts and photographs to be furnished to HD, purporting that the failed steel bars had been removed and returned to the suppliers.
HD later exposed parts of the superstructure and identified some of the failed bars that should not have been installed in the project.
The prosecution was today represented by Nicholas Adams on a fiat, assisted by ICAC officer Jason See.