Four years' jail for former company director in pumping station piling scam
2003-7-23
A former company director of a piling subcontractor, charged by the ICAC, was today (Wednesday) sentenced to four years’ imprisonment at District Court for his role in a short piling scam at a construction site of the Central and Wan Chai East Pumping Stations and Screening Plants.
The court heard that seven out of the 29 secant bored piles constructed at the site in Central were found to be shorter than the prescribed length by 3.36 to 14.52 metres.
Chan Kwong-yee, 49, former director of Hui Hon Foundations Limited (Hui Hon), was today found guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud.
Deputy Judge Jenkins ordered that two of the four years’ jail term meted out to Chan be run concurrently to the 12 years he was currently serving for a separate piling scam in relation to the Yuen Chau Kok public housing blocks.
The Central and Wan Chai East Pumping Stations and Screening Plants was a project of the Drainage Services Department (DSD).
The project was awarded to Guangdong Water Conservancy & Hydro-Power Engineering Development Company Limited (Guangdong Water) in October 1996.
Maunsell Consultants Asia Limited (Maunsell) was appointed to design and oversee the project, while Hui Hon was subcontracted the piling works at the site of the pumping station.
The court heard that Chan had conspired with a former site agent, a former foreman of Hui Hon and other persons to defraud Maunsell, Guangdong Water and DSD between May 1997 and January 1998, by falsely representing that a number of secant bored piles had been constructed in accordance with the layout plan, and submitting applications to DSD for payments.
According to the building plan, each secant bored pile should measure 40 metres in length. ICAC investigations revealed that seven of the 29 piles constructed by Hui Hon were 3.36 to 14.52 metres shorter than the required length.
DSD subsequently issued interim payments to Hui Hon for the seven shortened piles concerned. Part of the payments, amounting to over $970,000, were issued in relation to 58.82 metres of piles that had never been constructed.
The prosecution was today represented by Nicholas Adams on a fiat, assisted by ICAC officers Magdalen Tsai and Bryan Chong.
The court heard that seven out of the 29 secant bored piles constructed at the site in Central were found to be shorter than the prescribed length by 3.36 to 14.52 metres.
Chan Kwong-yee, 49, former director of Hui Hon Foundations Limited (Hui Hon), was today found guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud.
Deputy Judge Jenkins ordered that two of the four years’ jail term meted out to Chan be run concurrently to the 12 years he was currently serving for a separate piling scam in relation to the Yuen Chau Kok public housing blocks.
The Central and Wan Chai East Pumping Stations and Screening Plants was a project of the Drainage Services Department (DSD).
The project was awarded to Guangdong Water Conservancy & Hydro-Power Engineering Development Company Limited (Guangdong Water) in October 1996.
Maunsell Consultants Asia Limited (Maunsell) was appointed to design and oversee the project, while Hui Hon was subcontracted the piling works at the site of the pumping station.
The court heard that Chan had conspired with a former site agent, a former foreman of Hui Hon and other persons to defraud Maunsell, Guangdong Water and DSD between May 1997 and January 1998, by falsely representing that a number of secant bored piles had been constructed in accordance with the layout plan, and submitting applications to DSD for payments.
According to the building plan, each secant bored pile should measure 40 metres in length. ICAC investigations revealed that seven of the 29 piles constructed by Hui Hon were 3.36 to 14.52 metres shorter than the required length.
DSD subsequently issued interim payments to Hui Hon for the seven shortened piles concerned. Part of the payments, amounting to over $970,000, were issued in relation to 58.82 metres of piles that had never been constructed.
The prosecution was today represented by Nicholas Adams on a fiat, assisted by ICAC officers Magdalen Tsai and Bryan Chong.