Former site staff guilty of steel bar scam at Wang Tau Hom Estate housing project
2003-1-3
A former site staff of the main contractor for a redevelopment project at Wang Tau Hom Estate, charged by the ICAC, was today (Friday) convicted of conspiracy to defraud the Housing Department (HD) in relation to the disposal of non-compliant reinforcemen t steel bars at the site.
Yuen Hon-por, 39, former site administrator of Hsin Chong Construction Company Limited (Hsin Chong), was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud HD at Kowloon City Magistracy.
Magistrate Mr Anthony Kwok Kai-on adjourned the case until January 20, 2003 for sentence, pending a community service order report.
The case arose from a corruption allegation in relation to the use of non-compliant steel bars at a HD construction site. ICAC enquiries revealed the conspiracy offence.
Hsin Chong was the main contractor for the superstructures of the redevelopment project at Wang Tau Hom Estate Phase 14. The project involved the construction of two 35-storey Home Ownership Scheme blocks.
HD required that samples from each batch of steel bars delivered to the site had to be taken to an independent laboratory appointed by HD for yield stress test.
If a sample steel bar failed the yield stress test, the whole batch was not to be used and had to be removed from the site.
The court heard that on August 4, 1999, five samples from a batch of 1,005 steel bars were sent to the HD-appointed laboratory for testing. It was found that the samples failed the yield stress test.
Between August 5 and August 9, 1999, the defendant had conspired with another Hsin Chong staff to defraud HD, by dishonestly submitting false documents which purported to show that all the 1,005 steel bars from that particular batch had been removed from the site.
The court heard that in fact, only 603 of the steel bars had been removed.
The defendant was granted cash bail of $50,000, pending sentence. He was also ordered not to leave Hong Kong, and to report daily to the ICAC.
The prosecution was today represented by Richard Sousa on a fiat, assisted by ICAC officer Terence Cheung.
Yuen Hon-por, 39, former site administrator of Hsin Chong Construction Company Limited (Hsin Chong), was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud HD at Kowloon City Magistracy.
Magistrate Mr Anthony Kwok Kai-on adjourned the case until January 20, 2003 for sentence, pending a community service order report.
The case arose from a corruption allegation in relation to the use of non-compliant steel bars at a HD construction site. ICAC enquiries revealed the conspiracy offence.
Hsin Chong was the main contractor for the superstructures of the redevelopment project at Wang Tau Hom Estate Phase 14. The project involved the construction of two 35-storey Home Ownership Scheme blocks.
HD required that samples from each batch of steel bars delivered to the site had to be taken to an independent laboratory appointed by HD for yield stress test.
If a sample steel bar failed the yield stress test, the whole batch was not to be used and had to be removed from the site.
The court heard that on August 4, 1999, five samples from a batch of 1,005 steel bars were sent to the HD-appointed laboratory for testing. It was found that the samples failed the yield stress test.
Between August 5 and August 9, 1999, the defendant had conspired with another Hsin Chong staff to defraud HD, by dishonestly submitting false documents which purported to show that all the 1,005 steel bars from that particular batch had been removed from the site.
The court heard that in fact, only 603 of the steel bars had been removed.
The defendant was granted cash bail of $50,000, pending sentence. He was also ordered not to leave Hong Kong, and to report daily to the ICAC.
The prosecution was today represented by Richard Sousa on a fiat, assisted by ICAC officer Terence Cheung.