9 cheated FEHD out of HK$1.4m

Nine former staff of a Food and Environmental Hygiene Department cleaning contractor were found guilty yesterday of cheating the department out of more than HK$1.43 million by underpaying staff and subcontracting services.

A 10th defendant was acquitted after a 177-day trial in the District Court.

The 10 had pleaded not guilty to a total of 18 counts of conspiring to defraud the department while providing pest-control services between December 2004 and March 2006.

Barry Chan Kam-man, 47, Alexon Kot Ka-kui, 57, Po Chau-yin, 45, Chung Fuk, 40, Ho Ka-wo, 50, Po Ka-chun, 31, Kui Wai-chung, 43, Cheung Pui-ying, 50, and Lau Ka-wai, 37, were convicted. Chau Chun-hong, 42, was acquitted of one count of conspiracy to defraud.

The court heard that at the time of the scam Chan was general manager of the company, Centuryan Services Ltd, and Kot was contract manager, while the remaining eight were foremen.

Prosecutor Wong Po-wing told the court during the trial that the defendants had failed to disclose the true wages of their foremen and workers.