Four guilty of fraud over auction of $4m small house
2020-1-21
Three serving and former senior executives of a finance company and a director of an auction company, charged by the ICAC, were today (January 21) convicted at the District Court of conspiracy to defraud interested purchasers at an auction of a small house in the New Territories at a reserve price of $4 million.
Wong Lai-man, 34, senior loan officer of Ego Finance Limited (Ego Finance); Sun Lap-kei, 50, manager of Ego Finance, Yung Man-pik; 45, former assistant general manager of Ego Finance; and Tsang Kit-chun, 55, sole director cum shareholder of AA Property Auctioneers Limited (AAPA), were found guilty of a joint charge of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to Common Law.
Judge Fred Sham Siu-man adjourned the case to February 11 for sentence.
The case arose from a corruption complaint. Subsequent ICAC enquiries revealed the above offence.
The court heard that at the material time, Wong, Sun and Yung were respectively senior loan officer, manager and former assistant general manager of Ego Finance, a financial institution engaged in money lending business. Wong was also a subordinate and fiancée of Sun. Tsang was the sole director cum shareholder of AAPA, an auction firm engaged in selling real estate or properties entrusted by its customers.
The owner of a small house in Tai Po Tsai Tsuen, Sai Kung, had obtained various loans from Ego Finance and pledged the property as collateral. After the owner passed away in March 2015, no loan repayment was made and so Ego Finance repossessed the small house.
In January 2017, Ego Finance and AAPA entered into an agreement whereby AAPA was entrusted to sell the small house by public auction at a reserve price of $4 million. The small house was subsequently put up for auction on February 15, 2017 and Tsang was the auctioneer in charge.
The court heard that Sun was interested in buying the small house. Upon Sun’s request, Yung accompanied Wong to attend the auction.
Despite the dissuasion by a sales agent of AAPA, an interested purchaser eventually offered a bid at $4.05 million. But Tsang withdrew the small house from the auction on the pretext that the bid made by the interested purchaser did not meet the reserve price.
The interested purchaser left the auction venue after being told that the small house would be auctioned on a date to be fixed. Afterwards, Tsang put up the small house for auction again and Wong successfully bid for it at $4 million.
The court heard that during the auction, Wong, Sun and Yung communicated with each other through smartphone messages on the course of actions of other interested purchasers.
According to valuation by the Rating and Valuation Department, the market price of the small house was in fact $4.5 million, the court was also told.
The prosecution was today represented by prosecuting counsel Bernard Chung, assisted by ICAC officers Pan Pan and Christine Chiu.
Wong Lai-man, 34, senior loan officer of Ego Finance Limited (Ego Finance); Sun Lap-kei, 50, manager of Ego Finance, Yung Man-pik; 45, former assistant general manager of Ego Finance; and Tsang Kit-chun, 55, sole director cum shareholder of AA Property Auctioneers Limited (AAPA), were found guilty of a joint charge of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to Common Law.
Judge Fred Sham Siu-man adjourned the case to February 11 for sentence.
The case arose from a corruption complaint. Subsequent ICAC enquiries revealed the above offence.
The court heard that at the material time, Wong, Sun and Yung were respectively senior loan officer, manager and former assistant general manager of Ego Finance, a financial institution engaged in money lending business. Wong was also a subordinate and fiancée of Sun. Tsang was the sole director cum shareholder of AAPA, an auction firm engaged in selling real estate or properties entrusted by its customers.
The owner of a small house in Tai Po Tsai Tsuen, Sai Kung, had obtained various loans from Ego Finance and pledged the property as collateral. After the owner passed away in March 2015, no loan repayment was made and so Ego Finance repossessed the small house.
In January 2017, Ego Finance and AAPA entered into an agreement whereby AAPA was entrusted to sell the small house by public auction at a reserve price of $4 million. The small house was subsequently put up for auction on February 15, 2017 and Tsang was the auctioneer in charge.
The court heard that Sun was interested in buying the small house. Upon Sun’s request, Yung accompanied Wong to attend the auction.
Despite the dissuasion by a sales agent of AAPA, an interested purchaser eventually offered a bid at $4.05 million. But Tsang withdrew the small house from the auction on the pretext that the bid made by the interested purchaser did not meet the reserve price.
The interested purchaser left the auction venue after being told that the small house would be auctioned on a date to be fixed. Afterwards, Tsang put up the small house for auction again and Wong successfully bid for it at $4 million.
The court heard that during the auction, Wong, Sun and Yung communicated with each other through smartphone messages on the course of actions of other interested purchasers.
According to valuation by the Rating and Valuation Department, the market price of the small house was in fact $4.5 million, the court was also told.
The prosecution was today represented by prosecuting counsel Bernard Chung, assisted by ICAC officers Pan Pan and Christine Chiu.