A SHIPPING supervisor who used his position to cheat three firms out of $1.2 million to pay gambling debts was jailed for three years and nine months yesterday by the District Court.
Lee Kam-wah, who swindled the transport companies on 126 occasions from December 1990 to September 1993, pleaded guilty to 30 sample charges of obtaining property by deception.
Lee, 29, worked for Sino Agritrade Company Limited, which conveyed products from Hong Kong to China. He was responsible for import and export documents, and making arrangements for delivery of goods by assigning transport firms.
From December 1990, Lee asked the victim companies to pay a terminal handling charge.
Lee told the companies the officer responsible was not available to sign cheques for the payments, and Sino would reimburse them. He asked them to remit the money to his personal account and to issue the payment invoices separate from other invoices.
Lee also falsified Sino's accounting records to cover up his fraudulent act.
