His offences came to light after he wrote to the Eastern District Office on April 30 last year to say that 'he had wrongfully employed his wife Lam Yim-yuk as his assistant during 2001'.

He wrote to the office again on May 15 asking for direction to 'rectify' what he described as a 'mistake'.

Judge Alan Wright said: 'There is nothing to suggest you committed these offences for reasons other than sheer greed.' Leung, who has since repaid the sum in full, had pleaded guilty on Monday to 19 charges of using a false instrument and five charges of procuring a bank record by deception.

His dishonest conduct spanned from January 2001 to December 2002 during which he submitted forged documents - employment agreements and salary receipts - to claim for reimbursement of an assistant's salary.

Judge Wright noted that it was unclear if his wife had ever worked for Leung, but one sister-in-law never did and the other did not during the period he had claimed for. In any case, Leung would not have been able to claim the expenses as he was forbidden to hire a relative as an assistant.

Leung was first elected to the Eastern District Council in 1994 for a five-year term and was re-elected in 1999. He has since resigned.

His crimes constituted a 'cynical abuse' of the allowance system and a 'substantial and corrupt deviation from the fidelity required of' people in public office, Judge Wright said.

Leung also damaged and eroded the public trust placed on him by his electorate and the community, the judge said.

The father of one tried to gas himself with charcoal fumes on June 8 last year and two days later resigned from the Raimondi College where he had worked as a maths teacher for 21 years.

'This is a substantial fall from grace which will contribute to your punishment,' Judge Wright told Leung, jailing him for 16 months.