Ex-Government engineer charged by ICAC guilty of $940,000 housing allowance fraud
2024-1-31
A former Senior Building Services Engineer of the Architectural Services Department (ArchSD), charged by the ICAC, was today (January 31) convicted at the District Court of offences under the anti-bribery law for using application forms containing false statements which concealed that the property he rented was owned by him to obtain Government’s Private Tenancy Allowance (PTA) totalling over $940,000.
Cheng Wai-hung, 65, was found guilty of three counts of agent using a document with intent to deceive his principal, contrary to Section 9(3) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance.
Deputy District Judge Mr Pang Leung-ting adjourned the case to next Tuesday (February 6) for mitigation. The defendant was granted bail.
The defendant joined the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) in April 1984. He was then seconded to the ArchSD as Building Services Engineer and promoted to Senior Building Services Engineer. He was an eligible applicant for PTA provided by the Government. Nevertheless, the Civil Service Regulations stipulated that an officer shall not claim PTA in respect of accommodation in which the officer or his relative had a financial interest.
The court heard that between October 1989 and October 1995, the defendant submitted three PTA application forms containing false statements which declared that he did not have a financial interest in a property in Chai Wan so as to apply for PTA with the Government for renting the property.
The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint received in 2019. Enquiries revealed that the defendant was the de facto owner of the property all along. In order to conceal his financial interest in the property, he arranged a colleague and a relative to hold it through a company.
Had the Government known that the three application forms contained statements which were false, it would not have granted the defendant with PTA totalling over $940,000 for the period concerned.
Section 9(3) of the POBO stipulates that it is an offence for an agent, with intent to deceive his principal, to use a document containing a false statement. An agent could be an employee, and his employer would be his principal.
The ArchSD, EMSD and Treasury have rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Public Prosecutor Chan Sze-yan, assisted by ICAC officer Jessie Fu.
Cheng Wai-hung, 65, was found guilty of three counts of agent using a document with intent to deceive his principal, contrary to Section 9(3) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance.
Deputy District Judge Mr Pang Leung-ting adjourned the case to next Tuesday (February 6) for mitigation. The defendant was granted bail.
The defendant joined the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) in April 1984. He was then seconded to the ArchSD as Building Services Engineer and promoted to Senior Building Services Engineer. He was an eligible applicant for PTA provided by the Government. Nevertheless, the Civil Service Regulations stipulated that an officer shall not claim PTA in respect of accommodation in which the officer or his relative had a financial interest.
The court heard that between October 1989 and October 1995, the defendant submitted three PTA application forms containing false statements which declared that he did not have a financial interest in a property in Chai Wan so as to apply for PTA with the Government for renting the property.
The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint received in 2019. Enquiries revealed that the defendant was the de facto owner of the property all along. In order to conceal his financial interest in the property, he arranged a colleague and a relative to hold it through a company.
Had the Government known that the three application forms contained statements which were false, it would not have granted the defendant with PTA totalling over $940,000 for the period concerned.
Section 9(3) of the POBO stipulates that it is an offence for an agent, with intent to deceive his principal, to use a document containing a false statement. An agent could be an employee, and his employer would be his principal.
The ArchSD, EMSD and Treasury have rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Public Prosecutor Chan Sze-yan, assisted by ICAC officer Jessie Fu.