Civil servant couple charged by ICAC face additional charge of maintaining living standard above official emoluments involving $12m cash deposits
2022-6-16
The ICAC today (June 16) laid an additional charge of maintaining a living standard above the official emoluments against a Senior Building Services Engineer of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) and a Clinical Psychologist of the Social Welfare Department (SWD). The civil servant couple and a subcontractor of the EMSD were earlier charged with bribery, misconduct in public office (MIPO) and laundering crime proceeds in a case involving minor works contracts worth about $91.4 million of the EMSD.
Upon further legal advice from the Department of Justice, Zsa Sing-tak, 57, Senior Building Services Engineer of the EMSD; Zsa’s wife Ng Wai-shan, 50, Clinical Psychologist of the SWD, were today jointly laid an additional charge of being a prescribed officer maintaining a standard of living above that commensurate with his official emoluments, contrary to sections 10(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (POBO).
The duo and co-defendant Chan Tsz-wing, 55, subcontractor of the EMSD, will appear in the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts next Monday (June 20) for mention. An application will be made at a later stage to have the case committed to the High Court.
The additional charge alleges that between January 2012 and August 2019, Zsa, together with Ng, maintained a standard of living above that commensurate with Zsa’s official emoluments.
ICAC investigation revealed that during the above period, the two civil servants, Zsa and Ng, each received over 200 cash deposits in the total amount of about $12 million. The couple’s total known source of funds was about $40 million, including their official emoluments totalling about $15 million. However, they were able to spend over $52 million, which exceeded their official emoluments and any other known sources by about $12 million.
Section 10 of the POBO states that it is an offence if any person holding an office of emolument under the Government, including a civil servant, maintains a standard of living above that which is commensurate with his official emoluments, or is in control of property disproportionate to his emoluments, unless he gives a satisfactory explanation to the court. Any person who violates this section is liable on conviction to a maximum penalty of a 10-year imprisonment and a fine of $1 million.
Since its inception in 1974, the ICAC has strived to uphold a clean civil service and enforced the POBO vigorously to detect and weed out any corrupt conduct of public servants.
The ICAC earlier brought nine charges against Zsa, Ng and Chan, namely one of public servant accepting an advantage, one of offering an advantage to a public servant, two of MIPO, and five of dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence.
Zsa joined the EMSD in 1991 and was promoted to Senior Building Services Engineer in October 2014. Since August 2013, he was posted to Minor Works Sub-Division under Municipal Sector Division. He was responsible for handling and overseeing tendering and operations of public works contracts. At the material time, his wife, Ng, was a Clinical Psychologist of the SWD.
Between October 2016 and April 2018, the Minor Works Sub-Division in which Zsa was working awarded two minor works contracts at about $91.4 million to two main contractors. The contracts were subsequently subcontracted to three subcontractors in which Chan was the director-cum-shareholder.
According to the Circular issued by the Civil Service Bureau and the Guide on Conduct and Discipline issued by the EMSD, its staff members should avoid any conflict of interest with any tenderer and are required to declare any conflict of interest in relation to a tendering exercise and the subsequent contract management.
It is alleged that Zsa and Chan respectively accepted and offered $40,000, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, as an inducement to or reward for Zsa being or remaining favourably disposed to the above three subcontractors or other companies.
Zsa had allegedly willfully misconducted himself in the course of or in relation to his public office, without reasonable excuse or justification, by failing to declare his conflict of interest arising from his personal friendship with Chan and another person, both directors of subcontractors of the above EMSD contracts in respect of which Zsa was responsible for the management and supervision of the performance of the contractors.
In addition, Zsa and Ng had allegedly dealt with a total of over $9.5 million deposited into four bank accounts of them, knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that they in whole or in part, directly or indirectly represented the proceeds of an indictable offence.
Arising from the same investigation, Ng alone faces four counts of fraud in a separate case which involved four mortgage and personal loans totalling over $7.3 million.
The EMSD and the SWD have rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the cases.
Upon further legal advice from the Department of Justice, Zsa Sing-tak, 57, Senior Building Services Engineer of the EMSD; Zsa’s wife Ng Wai-shan, 50, Clinical Psychologist of the SWD, were today jointly laid an additional charge of being a prescribed officer maintaining a standard of living above that commensurate with his official emoluments, contrary to sections 10(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (POBO).
The duo and co-defendant Chan Tsz-wing, 55, subcontractor of the EMSD, will appear in the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts next Monday (June 20) for mention. An application will be made at a later stage to have the case committed to the High Court.
The additional charge alleges that between January 2012 and August 2019, Zsa, together with Ng, maintained a standard of living above that commensurate with Zsa’s official emoluments.
ICAC investigation revealed that during the above period, the two civil servants, Zsa and Ng, each received over 200 cash deposits in the total amount of about $12 million. The couple’s total known source of funds was about $40 million, including their official emoluments totalling about $15 million. However, they were able to spend over $52 million, which exceeded their official emoluments and any other known sources by about $12 million.
Section 10 of the POBO states that it is an offence if any person holding an office of emolument under the Government, including a civil servant, maintains a standard of living above that which is commensurate with his official emoluments, or is in control of property disproportionate to his emoluments, unless he gives a satisfactory explanation to the court. Any person who violates this section is liable on conviction to a maximum penalty of a 10-year imprisonment and a fine of $1 million.
Since its inception in 1974, the ICAC has strived to uphold a clean civil service and enforced the POBO vigorously to detect and weed out any corrupt conduct of public servants.
The ICAC earlier brought nine charges against Zsa, Ng and Chan, namely one of public servant accepting an advantage, one of offering an advantage to a public servant, two of MIPO, and five of dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence.
Zsa joined the EMSD in 1991 and was promoted to Senior Building Services Engineer in October 2014. Since August 2013, he was posted to Minor Works Sub-Division under Municipal Sector Division. He was responsible for handling and overseeing tendering and operations of public works contracts. At the material time, his wife, Ng, was a Clinical Psychologist of the SWD.
Between October 2016 and April 2018, the Minor Works Sub-Division in which Zsa was working awarded two minor works contracts at about $91.4 million to two main contractors. The contracts were subsequently subcontracted to three subcontractors in which Chan was the director-cum-shareholder.
According to the Circular issued by the Civil Service Bureau and the Guide on Conduct and Discipline issued by the EMSD, its staff members should avoid any conflict of interest with any tenderer and are required to declare any conflict of interest in relation to a tendering exercise and the subsequent contract management.
It is alleged that Zsa and Chan respectively accepted and offered $40,000, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, as an inducement to or reward for Zsa being or remaining favourably disposed to the above three subcontractors or other companies.
Zsa had allegedly willfully misconducted himself in the course of or in relation to his public office, without reasonable excuse or justification, by failing to declare his conflict of interest arising from his personal friendship with Chan and another person, both directors of subcontractors of the above EMSD contracts in respect of which Zsa was responsible for the management and supervision of the performance of the contractors.
In addition, Zsa and Ng had allegedly dealt with a total of over $9.5 million deposited into four bank accounts of them, knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that they in whole or in part, directly or indirectly represented the proceeds of an indictable offence.
Arising from the same investigation, Ng alone faces four counts of fraud in a separate case which involved four mortgage and personal loans totalling over $7.3 million.
The EMSD and the SWD have rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the cases.