A HONG KONG property agency has been slapped with $122,200 in penalties by the courts for violating the Protection of Investors Ordinance.
Ong's Properties (China) Consultants was fined $100,000 by the Western Magistracy.
It was also ordered to pay $22,200 to the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to cover the cost of the regulatory watchdog's investigation into Ong's real estate dealings in China.
The SFC said the company had breached the section of the law which prohibits anyone from issuing an advertisement or promotional material inviting the public to participate in an investment unless approved by the regulatory body.
According to the regulator, Ong's had promised investors in units of Giant Building in Zhuhai, an appreciation in their investments of 80 per cent in a newspaper.
Failing to achieve that, the building's developer, Zhuhai Giant Advanced Technology Group, would buy back the units for 180 per cent of the original sales price.