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2006-04-11 00:09:32 UTC
Fraudster couple sentenced
A Kwun Tong couple has been sentenced to 240 hours of community service
for defrauding the government of HK$223,273 in financial aid for their
two university student children, claiming they had no income despite
earning about HK$400,000 a year in rent from the five flats they owned.
Jonathan Cheng
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
A Kwun Tong couple has been sentenced to 240 hours of community service
for defrauding the government of HK$223,273 in financial aid for their
two university student children, claiming they had no income despite
earning about HK$400,000 a year in rent from the five flats they owned.
Pang Fook-hing, 53, and his wife Wong Sau-guk, 48, were also gainfully
employed between 2001 and 2004.
But during that time - when their son and daughter were studying at
university - Pang and Wong claimed in five separate financial aid
applications that Pang was jobless and Wong was a housewife without any
income.
They said they had three bank accounts between them, hiding their five
Kwun Tong-area properties and numerous other bank accounts from the
government's Student Financial Assistance Agency.
As a result, their two children reaped between HK$36,000 and HK$53,000 a
year in grants and loans to pay for their university tuition and
transportation fees.
Last month, the couple pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud for the
five application forms they filled out, agreeing to return all the money
and cooperate with a police investigation into the case.
These acts, Magistrate Garry Tallentire said in his sentencing Monday,
showed that Pang and Wong genuinely regretted their actions and did not
deserve jail time.
The fraud was discovered last year, when an investigation by the agency
revealed that the couple had not declared hundreds of thousands of
dollars of household income and pr
operty, including the fact that Wong had a stable job with an annual
salary of about HK$60,000.
The agency also discovered a number of other bank accounts under the
couple's names.
The agency further learned that, in 2004-2005 alone, their five
properties raked in more than HK$400,000 in rental payments.
In mitigation, Pang's employer wrote a letter describing his good
character, while his home village association described him as a good
person who had donated generously to the group.
The couple also said one of their properties had been paid for with
money borrowed from a relative, while another was still under mortgage.
Both Pang and Wong had no criminal records prior to this conviction and
were released on HK$500 bail last month.
They refused to speak to reporters as they left Kwun Tong Magistracy Monday.
According to the Student Financial Assistance Agency, more than 1,400
applications were investigated in 2004-05, among which 286 cases were
discovered to involve faulty information.
In 2003-04, more than 1,500 individual cases were investigated, with
more than 270 found to be "problematic" to varying degrees.
A Kwun Tong couple has been sentenced to 240 hours of community service
for defrauding the government of HK$223,273 in financial aid for their
two university student children, claiming they had no income despite
earning about HK$400,000 a year in rent from the five flats they owned.
Jonathan Cheng
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
A Kwun Tong couple has been sentenced to 240 hours of community service
for defrauding the government of HK$223,273 in financial aid for their
two university student children, claiming they had no income despite
earning about HK$400,000 a year in rent from the five flats they owned.
Pang Fook-hing, 53, and his wife Wong Sau-guk, 48, were also gainfully
employed between 2001 and 2004.
But during that time - when their son and daughter were studying at
university - Pang and Wong claimed in five separate financial aid
applications that Pang was jobless and Wong was a housewife without any
income.
They said they had three bank accounts between them, hiding their five
Kwun Tong-area properties and numerous other bank accounts from the
government's Student Financial Assistance Agency.
As a result, their two children reaped between HK$36,000 and HK$53,000 a
year in grants and loans to pay for their university tuition and
transportation fees.
Last month, the couple pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud for the
five application forms they filled out, agreeing to return all the money
and cooperate with a police investigation into the case.
These acts, Magistrate Garry Tallentire said in his sentencing Monday,
showed that Pang and Wong genuinely regretted their actions and did not
deserve jail time.
The fraud was discovered last year, when an investigation by the agency
revealed that the couple had not declared hundreds of thousands of
dollars of household income and pr
operty, including the fact that Wong had a stable job with an annual
salary of about HK$60,000.
The agency also discovered a number of other bank accounts under the
couple's names.
The agency further learned that, in 2004-2005 alone, their five
properties raked in more than HK$400,000 in rental payments.
In mitigation, Pang's employer wrote a letter describing his good
character, while his home village association described him as a good
person who had donated generously to the group.
The couple also said one of their properties had been paid for with
money borrowed from a relative, while another was still under mortgage.
Both Pang and Wong had no criminal records prior to this conviction and
were released on HK$500 bail last month.
They refused to speak to reporters as they left Kwun Tong Magistracy Monday.
According to the Student Financial Assistance Agency, more than 1,400
applications were investigated in 2004-05, among which 286 cases were
discovered to involve faulty information.
In 2003-04, more than 1,500 individual cases were investigated, with
more than 270 found to be "problematic" to varying degrees.