A former district councillor previously jailed for theft has admitted stealing more than HK$300,000 from 57 people and gambling away their money instead of organising advertised tours to Macau.
Kwun Sai-leung, 31, pleaded guilty to one charge of fraud at the District Court yesterday. Deputy District Court judge Gary Lam Kar-yan adjourned sentencing to March 21, remanding Kwun in custody.
The prosecution decided against charging Kwun with theft on account of his confession. Kwun's victims were residents of the Lei Cheng Uk Estate in Sham Shui Po, where he was then a district councillor.
He circulated flyers for two tours to Macau, saying he was organising them as chairman of the Lei Cheng Uk Residents' Association.
The ads said Kwun had commissioned a travel agency to organise the two-day tours to Macau, leaving on July 9 and 23 last year.
Kwun, a district councillor from 2003 until last November, collected HK$312,692 from 57 people, who were paying for 224 residents, their friends and relatives to join the tours. Kwun made a verbal reservation with CS Happy Tourist Travel and was supposed to pay a deposit of HK$52,800 by May 25 to secure the travellers' places for the July 9 tour.
