A shop manager of a fast-food chain, his wife and six “phantom workers” appeared at Tuen Mun Magistrates’ Court today (August 18) after being charged by the ICAC for allegedly conspiring to deceive the fast-food chain into paying wages totalling approximately $680,000 by falsely representing that the “phantom workers” had worked as shop assistants for over 1,500 days. Over half of the sum has been returned to the shop manager and his associates. The case was transferred to the District Court for plea.

The ICAC earlier charged two technical officers of a property management company (PMC) with an offence under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (POBO) for using nearly 120 false quotations to mislead the PMC while handling various minor maintenance and repair works of a private residential estate, involving a total value of approximately $600,000. One defendant had already pleaded guilty earlier, the other was convicted today (August 18) at the Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts.

ICAC Commissioner Mr Woo Ying-ming, leading an ICAC delegation, attended the 43rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Anti-Corruption and Transparency Experts’ Working Group Meeting held in Dalian today (17 August) to foster the implementation of “Beijing Declaration on Fighting Corruption” (the Declaration), and strengthen international anti-graft collaboration.

Two employees of a printing company, charged by the ICAC, were sentenced today (August 17) after admitting at the District Court that they had deceived the company into engaging a relative of one of them to provide delivery services by concealing a conflict of interest, thereby making personal gains of about $1 million.

The ICAC today (August 16) charged a then manager of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for allegedly obtaining dishonest access to the internal information system of the SFC, which contained confidential information on licensees and investigations of the SFC. The case is scheduled for mention at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (August 17).

A kitchenware supplier charged by the ICAC today (August 13) admitted at the Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts that she had bribed a purchasing manager of a Chinese restaurant to secure kitchenware orders, with the bribe amounting to 15 per cent of the order value.

A then bank employee, charged by the ICAC, admitted at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts today (August 11) that she had accepted RMB500 in bribes for each client referred by an intermediary who successfully opened a bank account.

A then teacher of a government-aided special school, charged by the ICAC, was convicted of fraud at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts today (August 11) for deceiving the school into not suspending his duties due to his failure in disclosing that he was under investigation by the Commission, and for concealing the fact that he had subsequently been charged, thereby preventing the termination of his employment.

An ICAC corruption investigation revealed that an illegal syndicate, with the assistance of bank staff in signing and issuing false bank documents, deceived Japanese investors into investing over JPY400 million (about HK$28.4 million at the material time) in various companies that falsely claimed to be undertaking investment projects in Africa by asserting that their bank accounts held assets totalling over HK$37 billion. The five defendants had either entered guilty pleas or been convicted after trial. Of them, two then bank managers were sentenced today (August 6) at the District Court to three years’ imprisonment.

A team leader of a bar-bending subcontractor of a transitional housing project in Yuen Long, charged by the ICAC, was today (August 5) sentenced to seven months’ imprisonment at the Fanling Magistrates’ Courts after admitting that he had accepted bribes totalling over $50,000 from a bar-bender in a span of five months for continuing the latter’s employment.