A Hong Kong court yesterday ruled that the former chairman of listed developer Grand Field Group Holdings, Wayland Tsang Wai-lun, and his wife should be remanded in custody.
It found the couple dishonest and said they provided 'a pack of lies'' to the stock exchange and investors about a fake transaction in 2002 which had led companies, investors and the bourse to suffer losses.
Deputy District Judge Albert Wong Sung-hau has not yet given his verdict in the case, but revoked the bail of Tsang and his wife, Nancy Kwok Wai-man, who was a former executive director at Grand Field.
However, he extended the bail conditions for the other four defendants pending a verdict today.
The couple and the four other defendants face four charges related to a bogus Chongqing gas pipeline venture in 2002. These include two counts of conspiracy to defraud, one of conspiracy to publish a false statement and one of conspiracy to deal in the proceeds of an indictable offence.
In mid-March 2002, Grand Field's stock price dropped from 68 HK cents to about 12 HK cents, resulting in huge losses for Tsang and his wife. The couple instructed an accountant to form a company called Sino Richest, which later teamed up with a mainland firm to invest in a Chongqing gas pipeline project.
Three months later, a Grand Field subsidiary bought a majority shareholding in the Chongqing project from Sino Richest for HK$63 million. It applied to the stock exchange to issue new shares to finance the deal. But no money was injected into the project, sparking inquiries from the stock exchange.
