Cleaning four deny conspiracy charges

Four cleaning company managers yesterday denied conspiring to cheat the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department in contracts worth about $106 million.

Ha Kam-kaye, 71, the general manager of Wai Hong Waste Management, allegedly subcontracted cleaning work to three other companies and hired their staff as his own without informing the department.

Ha faces three counts of conspiracy to defraud, while the three subcontractors - Wong Siu-sing, 42, of A&T Service Company; Ng Wai-ming, 38, of Ming Kee Cleaning Services; and Tam Man-kwong, 56, of Wai Shing Cleaning Company - are each charged with one count of conspiracy. The alleged offences took place between June 2001 and October last year.

Prosecutor Shaun Kelly told the District Court that Ha's company recruited A&T, Ming Kee and Wai Shing as subcontractors to carry out Food and Environmental Hygiene Department cleaning contracts for Wai Hong.

Ha and each of the other defendants are accused of conspiring to defraud the department by falsely representing that Wong and the cleaning workers recruited by him were all employees of Wai Hong.

The prosecution alleges Ha and Tam had also concealed the true wages of 10 workers on one of the contracts from the department, and the workers were underpaid.

But the prosecution said the department did not suffer actual financial loss.

District Court judge Chua Fi-lan adjourned the case to June 5.