A former kitchen waste collector of a cleaning company and his wife have been charged by the ICAC today (December 7) with conspiracy to defraud the cleaning company of wages totalling over $106,000 by falsely representing that the wife had worked as a then kitchen waste collector for the company.

Lam Ping-cho, 60, former kitchen waste collector of Nixon Cleaning Company Limited (NCL), and his wife Lu Wing-yin, 50, estate agent, face a joint charge of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to the Common Law.

The defendants will appear at the Kowloon City Magistracy next Tuesday (December 11) for plea.

The case arose from a corruption complaint. Subsequent ICAC enquiries revealed the above alleged offence.

At the material time, Lam was a kitchen waste collector of NCL, the cleaning contractor of a shopping centre in Ho Man Tin. Lu entered into an employment contract with NCL to work as a kitchen waste collector, but she had never worked for NCL.

The charge alleges that between December 1, 2016 and November 6, 2017, Lam and Lu conspired together and with a supervisor of NCL and other unknown persons to defraud NCL by dishonestly providing the personal particulars of Lu for the purpose of applying for the job of kitchen waste collector with NCL; causing an employment contract to be entered into between Lu and NCL; and falsely representing that Lu had reported duties at the shopping centre in Ho Man Tin as a kitchen waste collector, thereby causing and inducing NCL to pay Lu a total sum of over $106,000.

NCL has rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.

The defendants have been released on ICAC bail, pending their court appearance next Tuesday.