Trio charged by ICAC for $1.3m Community Care Service Voucher subsidy fraud
2026-7-9
Three people, including two private care agency operators, were charged by the ICAC yesterday (July 8), following an intensive investigation and legal advice from the Department of Justice, for allegedly conspiring together to defraud the Social Welfare Department (SWD) of over $1.3 million in subsidies by submitting false attendance records that overstated home care service hours provided by carers by more than 5,000 hours. The investigation stemmed from a corruption complaint referred by the SWD, alleging that individuals deceived the government into granting subsidies under the “Community Care Service Voucher Scheme for the Elderly” (CCSV Scheme) through corrupt means.
The defendants are Lo Yuen-yee, 55, registered nurse and director of Healthy Life Association Limited (Healthy Life Association); Chan Yu-wai, 49, registered occupational therapist and director-cum-shareholder of Spark Plus Company Limited (Spark Plus); and Mak Chui-shan, 58, personal care service officer of Healthy Life Association and Spark Plus.
The trio jointly face two counts of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to the Common Law. They were released on bail and their case is set for mention at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (July 10). The prosecution will apply to transfer the case to the District Court for plea.
The CCSV Scheme directly subsidises eligible elderly persons to receive home care services and day care centre services provided by Recognised Service Providers (RSPs). At the material time, both Healthy Life Association and Spark Plus were RSPs under the CCSV Scheme. After providing services to voucher users, the two agencies were required to submit attendance records to the SWD to claim subsidy reimbursements.
Lo served as a director of Healthy Life Association, while Chan was a director of Spark Plus. Both participated in the operations of the two service providers. Lo’s responsibilities included sourcing clients and deploying carers to provide home care services to voucher users while Chan’s duties involved verifying attendance records and submitting monthly applications to the SWD for subsidy reimbursement.
The charges allege that between November 2023 and May 2025, the three defendants conspired with 10 carers deployed by Lo or Mak to defraud the SWD by falsely representing that the attendance records submitted by Healthy Life Association and Spark Plus were true and accurate, thereby inducing the SWD to pay subsidies under the CCSV Scheme to the two agencies.
According to the ICAC’s investigation, the defendants allegedly overstated home service hours by over 5,000 hours in relevant attendance records involving more than 130 voucher users. Consequently, Healthy Life Association and Spark Plus received subsidies totalling over $1.3 million under the CCSV Scheme.
The SWD rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
An ICAC spokesperson noted that the Commission will not tolerate anyone exploiting social welfare policies to defraud the government of public funds. In addition to taking law enforcement action, the ICAC has proactively reviewed procedures regarding the CCSV Scheme and provided practical recommendations to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.
The defendants are Lo Yuen-yee, 55, registered nurse and director of Healthy Life Association Limited (Healthy Life Association); Chan Yu-wai, 49, registered occupational therapist and director-cum-shareholder of Spark Plus Company Limited (Spark Plus); and Mak Chui-shan, 58, personal care service officer of Healthy Life Association and Spark Plus.
The trio jointly face two counts of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to the Common Law. They were released on bail and their case is set for mention at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (July 10). The prosecution will apply to transfer the case to the District Court for plea.
The CCSV Scheme directly subsidises eligible elderly persons to receive home care services and day care centre services provided by Recognised Service Providers (RSPs). At the material time, both Healthy Life Association and Spark Plus were RSPs under the CCSV Scheme. After providing services to voucher users, the two agencies were required to submit attendance records to the SWD to claim subsidy reimbursements.
Lo served as a director of Healthy Life Association, while Chan was a director of Spark Plus. Both participated in the operations of the two service providers. Lo’s responsibilities included sourcing clients and deploying carers to provide home care services to voucher users while Chan’s duties involved verifying attendance records and submitting monthly applications to the SWD for subsidy reimbursement.
The charges allege that between November 2023 and May 2025, the three defendants conspired with 10 carers deployed by Lo or Mak to defraud the SWD by falsely representing that the attendance records submitted by Healthy Life Association and Spark Plus were true and accurate, thereby inducing the SWD to pay subsidies under the CCSV Scheme to the two agencies.
According to the ICAC’s investigation, the defendants allegedly overstated home service hours by over 5,000 hours in relevant attendance records involving more than 130 voucher users. Consequently, Healthy Life Association and Spark Plus received subsidies totalling over $1.3 million under the CCSV Scheme.
The SWD rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
An ICAC spokesperson noted that the Commission will not tolerate anyone exploiting social welfare policies to defraud the government of public funds. In addition to taking law enforcement action, the ICAC has proactively reviewed procedures regarding the CCSV Scheme and provided practical recommendations to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.