SWD Assistant Social Work Officer gets eight months’ jail for bribery for referring patients to private elderly home
2024-5-3
An Assistant Social Work Officer of the Social Welfare Department (SWD), charged by the ICAC, was today (May 3) sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts for accepting bribes of $83,000 from an operator of a private residential care home for the elderly (RCHE) for referring discharged patients of the Princess Margaret Hospital to the RCHE.
Yau Chun-wo, 58, Assistant Social Work Officer of the SWD, was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment and ordered to make a restitution repayment of the bribes concerned to the government. Co-defendant Li Lai-chun, 51, operator of Happy Year Elderly Care Home (Happy Year), was jailed for six months and 18 days.
The duo earlier pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy for a public servant to accept advantages, contrary to Section 4(2)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and Section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance.
In sentencing, Magistrate Mr Li Chi-ho remarked that the court was dealing with a typical corruption case in which the defendant committed the offence continually for a long period. Both defendants warranted an immediate custodial sentence while the criminality of offering bribes and that of bribes acceptance were the same. The Magistrate took a starting point of 12 months’ imprisonment and reduced the duo’s jail terms, having considered their guilty pleas and various mitigating factors.
The court heard that Yau was posted to the Medical Social Services Unit of the Princess Margaret Hospital’s Lai King Building (Lai King Building) at the material time. He was responsible for arranging discharged elderly patients to reside in RCHEs for rehabilitation. In accordance with the relevant guidelines, he was only allowed to provide the SWD’s list of registered RCHEs to the patients for selection, and should not indicate his preference for any RCHE on the list nor recommend to the patients any RCHE operated by his family members or close personal friends.
Li was a shareholder-cum-director of the company which operated Happy Year, a private RCHE on the SWD’s list of registered RCHEs.
The duo admitted that they had respectively offered and accepted bribes for referring patients discharged from Lai King Building to Happy Year between May 2018 and September 2022.
The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint. Enquiries revealed that Yau had arranged a total of 33 discharged patients of Lai King Building to reside at Happy Year over a span of over four years. Family members of one-third of the patients noted that Yau recommended Happy Year to them.
It was also revealed in ICAC’s investigation that Yau accepted bribes of $83,000 from Li for referring 14 of the patients to Happy Year.
An ICAC spokesperson notes that civil servants should never abuse their official capacity to obtain personal gain, and should uphold integrity in performing their duties in order to safeguard public interest. The ICAC also reminds members of the public that bribery is a serious offence, offering bribes to civil servants in exchange for their assistance or favour is strictly prohibited.
The SWD had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Public Prosecutor Noelle Aileen Chit, assisted by ICAC officer Alvin Pang.
Yau Chun-wo, 58, Assistant Social Work Officer of the SWD, was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment and ordered to make a restitution repayment of the bribes concerned to the government. Co-defendant Li Lai-chun, 51, operator of Happy Year Elderly Care Home (Happy Year), was jailed for six months and 18 days.
The duo earlier pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy for a public servant to accept advantages, contrary to Section 4(2)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and Section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance.
In sentencing, Magistrate Mr Li Chi-ho remarked that the court was dealing with a typical corruption case in which the defendant committed the offence continually for a long period. Both defendants warranted an immediate custodial sentence while the criminality of offering bribes and that of bribes acceptance were the same. The Magistrate took a starting point of 12 months’ imprisonment and reduced the duo’s jail terms, having considered their guilty pleas and various mitigating factors.
The court heard that Yau was posted to the Medical Social Services Unit of the Princess Margaret Hospital’s Lai King Building (Lai King Building) at the material time. He was responsible for arranging discharged elderly patients to reside in RCHEs for rehabilitation. In accordance with the relevant guidelines, he was only allowed to provide the SWD’s list of registered RCHEs to the patients for selection, and should not indicate his preference for any RCHE on the list nor recommend to the patients any RCHE operated by his family members or close personal friends.
Li was a shareholder-cum-director of the company which operated Happy Year, a private RCHE on the SWD’s list of registered RCHEs.
The duo admitted that they had respectively offered and accepted bribes for referring patients discharged from Lai King Building to Happy Year between May 2018 and September 2022.
The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint. Enquiries revealed that Yau had arranged a total of 33 discharged patients of Lai King Building to reside at Happy Year over a span of over four years. Family members of one-third of the patients noted that Yau recommended Happy Year to them.
It was also revealed in ICAC’s investigation that Yau accepted bribes of $83,000 from Li for referring 14 of the patients to Happy Year.
An ICAC spokesperson notes that civil servants should never abuse their official capacity to obtain personal gain, and should uphold integrity in performing their duties in order to safeguard public interest. The ICAC also reminds members of the public that bribery is a serious offence, offering bribes to civil servants in exchange for their assistance or favour is strictly prohibited.
The SWD had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Public Prosecutor Noelle Aileen Chit, assisted by ICAC officer Alvin Pang.