Three estate agents and property vendor penalized for bribery over flat sale
2010-3-5
Three real estate agents and a property vendor, charged by the ICAC, were today (Friday) respectively jailed and ordered to perform community service at Shatin Magistracy for bribery over the transaction of a property worth over $1.5 million.
Lam Suet-ying, 27, a former branch manager of Midland Realty (Midland), was jailed for 14 weeks, while two former Midland agents, Cheung Chun-fai, 27, and Ng Kai-man, 32, were each sentenced to 12 weeks’ imprisonment. Each of them was also ordered to pay $4,150 in restitution to Midland.
Lam and Cheung had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of agent accepting an advantage while Ng was convicted after trial of a similar offence.
Chow Siu-wah, 52, an owner of a property in Shatin, was ordered to perform 240 hours of community service for one count of offering an advantage to an agent which he had earlier admitted.
The court heard that in December 2007, Chow had entrusted Midland to sell his flat. Lam and Cheung were the handling agents.
Lam and Cheung subsequently told Chow that a potential buyer had offered to buy the property at $1.55 million, and asked if Chow would pay an extra commission to them if they could secure a higher selling price, a request that Chow conceded to.
On December 29, 2007, under Lam and Cheung’s arrangement, Chow signed a provisional sale and purchase agreement with a purchaser introduced by Ng to sell his property at $1.58 million.
Chow then paid Lam and Cheung $12,450 as an extra commission, which Lam, Cheung and Ng shared equally.
The court heard that employees of Midland were prohibited from soliciting or accepting any commissions from clients privately.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Public Prosecutor Beney Wong, assisted by ICAC officer Gary Leung.
Lam Suet-ying, 27, a former branch manager of Midland Realty (Midland), was jailed for 14 weeks, while two former Midland agents, Cheung Chun-fai, 27, and Ng Kai-man, 32, were each sentenced to 12 weeks’ imprisonment. Each of them was also ordered to pay $4,150 in restitution to Midland.
Lam and Cheung had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of agent accepting an advantage while Ng was convicted after trial of a similar offence.
Chow Siu-wah, 52, an owner of a property in Shatin, was ordered to perform 240 hours of community service for one count of offering an advantage to an agent which he had earlier admitted.
The court heard that in December 2007, Chow had entrusted Midland to sell his flat. Lam and Cheung were the handling agents.
Lam and Cheung subsequently told Chow that a potential buyer had offered to buy the property at $1.55 million, and asked if Chow would pay an extra commission to them if they could secure a higher selling price, a request that Chow conceded to.
On December 29, 2007, under Lam and Cheung’s arrangement, Chow signed a provisional sale and purchase agreement with a purchaser introduced by Ng to sell his property at $1.58 million.
Chow then paid Lam and Cheung $12,450 as an extra commission, which Lam, Cheung and Ng shared equally.
The court heard that employees of Midland were prohibited from soliciting or accepting any commissions from clients privately.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Public Prosecutor Beney Wong, assisted by ICAC officer Gary Leung.