Hong Kong anti-graft body charges insurance agent turned civil servant over misdirecting inquiry, conspiracy to defraud
- Independent Commission Against Corruption charges immigration officer with one count of using documents to dupe superiors and two counts of conspiracy to defraud
- ‘Civil servants should uphold honesty and integrity, and should never partake in any corrupt and illegal activities to obtain personal gain,’ commission adds
Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency has charged an insurance agent turned immigration officer suspected of using false information to misdirect an internal inquiry into his employment status and conspiring with others to defraud a company.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption on Sunday said 29-year-old Yau Sing-ho was charged last Thursday with one count of using documents with intent to deceive his principal, a violation of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance.
The suspect had worked as a licensed insurance agent with MetLife, which was later taken over by FWD Life Insurance Company, and allegedly held on to the position while serving as an immigration officer between September 2018 and October 2020, it said.
Under the Civil Service Regulation, government employees must obtain permission from their superiors before taking up any paid work outside their public duties.
“Civil servants should uphold honesty and integrity, and should never partake in any corrupt and illegal activities to obtain personal gain,” the commission said.
The commission also charged Yau and three former FWD Life Insurance agents with two counts of conspiracy to defraud. The three others, aged 32 to 37, comprise Ricky Tang Tsz-lok, Uno Tang Sin-yiu and Leung Chi-kwong.
According to the anti-corruption body, Yau, who was also a senior relationship manager at MetLife, had worked with Uno Tang and Leung under Ricky Tang, an associate division director at the company.
