Policeman penalised for failure to comply with POBO notice
2014-1-20
A Police Constable, charged by the ICAC, was today (Monday) fined $5,000 at the Eastern Magistracy after being convicted of failing to comply with a notice served on him under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (POBO) requiring him to declare all his properties, expenditures and liabilities.
Chung Hin-lok, 40, was today found guilty of one count of failing to comply with a notice issued under Section 14(1)(a) of the POBO, contrary to Section 14(4) of the POBO.
In sentencing, Magistrate Mr Marco Li Kwok-wai remarked that the High Court had on many occasions emphasised that corruption was difficult to tackle and required special tools to combat the evils of corruption. Any attempt to defeat this power must be la wfully sanctioned.
The court heard that on February 4 last year, Deputy High Court Judge Wright granted an order authorising the ICAC Commissioner to issue a notice under Section 14(1)(a) of the POBO to the defendant.
On the same day, a notice pursuant to the order was issued by the ICAC and duly served on the defendant requiring him to enumerate in the form of a statutory declaration his properties, expenditures and liabilities of an amount of $2,000 or more in the th ree years immediately preceding February 4 last year.
After receiving two letters of reminder from the ICAC and being granted an extension of 21 days to comply with the notice, the defendant submitted to the ICAC on March 25 last year the original notice served on him with his handwritten answers marked on i t, and attached a one-page handwritten note as a reply.
The court heard that while the reply was not in the form of a statutory declaration, the defendant failed to include details of his properties, including his account with a bank.
The defendant also failed to include liabilities incurred by him, which included a loan of over $95,000 from the Hong Kong Police Credit Union and loans of over $700,000 from four financial institutions, the court was told.
The case arose from a corruption complaint referred by the Police. In the course of the ICAC investigation into the complaint, the defendant committed the above offence.
The prosecution was today represented by Acting Senior Public Prosecutor Jonathan Lin, assisted by ICAC officer Paul Lau.
Chung Hin-lok, 40, was today found guilty of one count of failing to comply with a notice issued under Section 14(1)(a) of the POBO, contrary to Section 14(4) of the POBO.
In sentencing, Magistrate Mr Marco Li Kwok-wai remarked that the High Court had on many occasions emphasised that corruption was difficult to tackle and required special tools to combat the evils of corruption. Any attempt to defeat this power must be la wfully sanctioned.
The court heard that on February 4 last year, Deputy High Court Judge Wright granted an order authorising the ICAC Commissioner to issue a notice under Section 14(1)(a) of the POBO to the defendant.
On the same day, a notice pursuant to the order was issued by the ICAC and duly served on the defendant requiring him to enumerate in the form of a statutory declaration his properties, expenditures and liabilities of an amount of $2,000 or more in the th ree years immediately preceding February 4 last year.
After receiving two letters of reminder from the ICAC and being granted an extension of 21 days to comply with the notice, the defendant submitted to the ICAC on March 25 last year the original notice served on him with his handwritten answers marked on i t, and attached a one-page handwritten note as a reply.
The court heard that while the reply was not in the form of a statutory declaration, the defendant failed to include details of his properties, including his account with a bank.
The defendant also failed to include liabilities incurred by him, which included a loan of over $95,000 from the Hong Kong Police Credit Union and loans of over $700,000 from four financial institutions, the court was told.
The case arose from a corruption complaint referred by the Police. In the course of the ICAC investigation into the complaint, the defendant committed the above offence.
The prosecution was today represented by Acting Senior Public Prosecutor Jonathan Lin, assisted by ICAC officer Paul Lau.