A stockbroker stole shares worth more than $21 million from two longstanding clients to cover up his own mounting losses, a court heard yesterday.
Koon Yee-poon, 44, secretly used their accounts to carry out share dealings for himself.
But when his gamble failed and he incurred huge losses, he sold shares belonging to the two unwitting customers in order to conceal his conduct.
'As the years went on he sold more and more shares to cover his losses,' prosecutor Gavin Shiu said.
Koon kept his clients in the dark by sending them fake account statements prepared on his home computer.
He pleaded guilty to stealing shares worth $14,694,662 from Lau Kuet-hian, a 65-year-old businessman, and shares worth $6,643,655 from Cheung Fung-sin, a 68-year-old retired businesswoman.