Six admit indigenous villagers' rights fraud
2002-5-13
Six persons, charged by the ICAC, today (Monday) admitted at Tuen Mun Magistracy that they had conspired to cheat the government over the rights to build small houses in the New Territories and received monetary rewards ranging from $1,000 to $40,000 for acting as indigenous villagers.
The defendants were Wong Pit-wah, 30, warehouse keeper; Conway Wong Pit-man, 32, clerk; Wong Pit-chuen, 34, clerk; Wong Chi-chiu, 27, maintenance worker; Wong Chi-kwong, 31, roast meat worker; and Wong Siu-cheung, 28, hair stylist.
They were each granted bail of $10,000 in cash by Magistrate Mr Stephen Smout, and were ordered not to leave Hong Kong. Sentencing was adjourned to May 27, 2002.
The defendants were arrested by the ICAC in March this year during a corruption enquiry into a fraud.
Wong Pit-wah alone pleaded guilty to three charges of conspiracy to defraud.
One of the charges stated that he had conspired with Lai King-wah and others to defraud the Yuen Long District Lands Office (DLO) of the Lands Department and its officers for the purpose of obtaining a licence for Wong Pit-wah to build a small house by di shonestly:
- falsely representing to DLO officers that Wong Pit-wah was an indigenous villager of Yuen Kong Tsuen;
- causing or permitting DLO officers to process the application of Wong Pit-wah for a licence; and
- causing DLO officers to grant Wong Pit-wah a licence.
The remaining two charges stated that Wong Pit-wah had conspired respectively with Wong Pit-man and Wong Pit-chuen, and Lai to defraud Yuen Long DLO in relation to the application for licences for small house constructions.
The prosecution today offered no evidence to three other similar charges against Wong Pit-wah.
The remaining defendants each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring with Wong Pit-wah and Lai to defraud Yuen Long DLO.
The charges stated that the defendants had falsely represented they were indigenous villagers of Yuen Kong Tsuen, Shui Tsan Tin Tsuen or Ngau Keng Tsuen.
The offences took place between January 1993 and March 2002.
The court heard that in 1993, Wong Pit-wah was approached by Lai, who asked him to help fill in documents for small house applications and made false declaration regarding his status as an indigenous villager.
Wong Pit-wah later also recruited his two brothers, Wong Pit-man and Wong Pit-chuen, and his friends Wong Chi-chiu, Wong Chi-kwong and Wong Siu-cheung, over false claims of indigenous villagers for applications to DLO for constructing small houses.
The defendants were offered monetary rewards ranging from $1,000 to $40,000 to act as indigenous villagers.
On the belief that the defendants' "ding" rights were bona fide, the Yuen Long DLO approved or processed the relevant applications for constructing small houses.
The prosecution was today represented by ICAC officer Kenneth Choi.
The defendants were Wong Pit-wah, 30, warehouse keeper; Conway Wong Pit-man, 32, clerk; Wong Pit-chuen, 34, clerk; Wong Chi-chiu, 27, maintenance worker; Wong Chi-kwong, 31, roast meat worker; and Wong Siu-cheung, 28, hair stylist.
They were each granted bail of $10,000 in cash by Magistrate Mr Stephen Smout, and were ordered not to leave Hong Kong. Sentencing was adjourned to May 27, 2002.
The defendants were arrested by the ICAC in March this year during a corruption enquiry into a fraud.
Wong Pit-wah alone pleaded guilty to three charges of conspiracy to defraud.
One of the charges stated that he had conspired with Lai King-wah and others to defraud the Yuen Long District Lands Office (DLO) of the Lands Department and its officers for the purpose of obtaining a licence for Wong Pit-wah to build a small house by di shonestly:
- falsely representing to DLO officers that Wong Pit-wah was an indigenous villager of Yuen Kong Tsuen;
- causing or permitting DLO officers to process the application of Wong Pit-wah for a licence; and
- causing DLO officers to grant Wong Pit-wah a licence.
The remaining two charges stated that Wong Pit-wah had conspired respectively with Wong Pit-man and Wong Pit-chuen, and Lai to defraud Yuen Long DLO in relation to the application for licences for small house constructions.
The prosecution today offered no evidence to three other similar charges against Wong Pit-wah.
The remaining defendants each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring with Wong Pit-wah and Lai to defraud Yuen Long DLO.
The charges stated that the defendants had falsely represented they were indigenous villagers of Yuen Kong Tsuen, Shui Tsan Tin Tsuen or Ngau Keng Tsuen.
The offences took place between January 1993 and March 2002.
The court heard that in 1993, Wong Pit-wah was approached by Lai, who asked him to help fill in documents for small house applications and made false declaration regarding his status as an indigenous villager.
Wong Pit-wah later also recruited his two brothers, Wong Pit-man and Wong Pit-chuen, and his friends Wong Chi-chiu, Wong Chi-kwong and Wong Siu-cheung, over false claims of indigenous villagers for applications to DLO for constructing small houses.
The defendants were offered monetary rewards ranging from $1,000 to $40,000 to act as indigenous villagers.
On the belief that the defendants' "ding" rights were bona fide, the Yuen Long DLO approved or processed the relevant applications for constructing small houses.
The prosecution was today represented by ICAC officer Kenneth Choi.