Six former cleaners charged with $150,000 fraud over false attendance
2020-6-29
A former cleansing foreman and five former cleansing workers of the contractor of a public housing estate have been charged by the ICAC today (June 29) for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to deceive the contractor into making salary payments totalling over $150,000 by falsifying their attendance records.
He Lingling, 38, former cleansing foreman of Easy Living Consultant Limited (Easy Living), and five co-defendants, Ng Kit-yee, Koon Wai-keung, Li Ruijiao, Chan Sing-kau and Ng Sing-yiu, aged between 65 and 72, all former cleansing workers of Easy Living, jointly face one count of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to Common Law.
The defendants will appear at the Tuen Mun Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday (July 2) for plea.
The case arose from a corruption complaint. Subsequent ICAC enquiries revealed the above alleged offence.
Since July 2017, Easy Living has been the property management contractor of Fu Tai Estate, a public housing estate of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) in Tuen Mun. Easy Living was required to provide cleansing workers to perform a designated minimum man-hours of cleaning work per week. Its monthly cleaning service fee would be deducted if it failed to meet the contract requirement.
At the material time, He was a cleansing foreman of Easy Living posted to Fu Tai Estate. She was responsible for supervising all cleansing workers, including the five co-defendants. All cleansing workers were required to make their own attendance records when reporting on and off duty.
The charge alleges that between September 1, 2018 and May 21, 2019, He and the five co-defendants conspired together and with three other then cleansing workers to defraud Easy Living by dishonestly falsely representing to the company that the five co-defendants and three then cleansing workers had been on duty at the period as shown on their attendance records, thereby inducing Easy Living to pay those eight cleansing workers salary calculated based on their respective attendance records.
It is alleged that Easy Living was induced to make salary payments totalling over $150,000 under the fraudulent arrangements.
The HA and Easy Living have rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
The defendants have been released on ICAC bail, pending their court appearance on Thursday.
He Lingling, 38, former cleansing foreman of Easy Living Consultant Limited (Easy Living), and five co-defendants, Ng Kit-yee, Koon Wai-keung, Li Ruijiao, Chan Sing-kau and Ng Sing-yiu, aged between 65 and 72, all former cleansing workers of Easy Living, jointly face one count of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to Common Law.
The defendants will appear at the Tuen Mun Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday (July 2) for plea.
The case arose from a corruption complaint. Subsequent ICAC enquiries revealed the above alleged offence.
Since July 2017, Easy Living has been the property management contractor of Fu Tai Estate, a public housing estate of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) in Tuen Mun. Easy Living was required to provide cleansing workers to perform a designated minimum man-hours of cleaning work per week. Its monthly cleaning service fee would be deducted if it failed to meet the contract requirement.
At the material time, He was a cleansing foreman of Easy Living posted to Fu Tai Estate. She was responsible for supervising all cleansing workers, including the five co-defendants. All cleansing workers were required to make their own attendance records when reporting on and off duty.
The charge alleges that between September 1, 2018 and May 21, 2019, He and the five co-defendants conspired together and with three other then cleansing workers to defraud Easy Living by dishonestly falsely representing to the company that the five co-defendants and three then cleansing workers had been on duty at the period as shown on their attendance records, thereby inducing Easy Living to pay those eight cleansing workers salary calculated based on their respective attendance records.
It is alleged that Easy Living was induced to make salary payments totalling over $150,000 under the fraudulent arrangements.
The HA and Easy Living have rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
The defendants have been released on ICAC bail, pending their court appearance on Thursday.