Manager and ex-engineer jailed for construction fraud at Tung Chung project
2001-11-24
A construction manager and a former engineer were today (Saturday) jailed for three and a half years and one year and nine months respectively at District Court for 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, construction manager of Cheung Kee Fung Cheung Construction Company Limited (Cheung Kee), was earlier found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to defraud HD, while Chan Fung, 38, former quality control engineer of Cheung Kee, had pleaded guilty to the same charges.
In sentencing, Deputy Judge White said immediate custodial sentences were imposed on the defendants to serve as a deterrence, since the offences committed by them were serious and had impaired the public's confidence in the structure of the housing blocks .
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 betw een 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 test or mass density test. The majority of them had not been returned to the suppliers. Instead they were used in the co nstruction 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 identified some of the failed bars that should not have been used 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, construction manager of Cheung Kee Fung Cheung Construction Company Limited (Cheung Kee), was earlier found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to defraud HD, while Chan Fung, 38, former quality control engineer of Cheung Kee, had pleaded guilty to the same charges.
In sentencing, Deputy Judge White said immediate custodial sentences were imposed on the defendants to serve as a deterrence, since the offences committed by them were serious and had impaired the public's confidence in the structure of the housing blocks .
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 betw een 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 test or mass density test. The majority of them had not been returned to the suppliers. Instead they were used in the co nstruction 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 identified some of the failed bars that should not have been used in the project.
The prosecution was today represented by Nicholas Adams on a fiat, assisted by ICAC officer Jason See.