A then Assistant Officer of the Correctional Services Department (CSD) was charged by the ICAC yesterday (March 12) for allegedly deceiving the Correctional Services Department Credit Union (CSDCU) and three financial institutions into granting him various loans totalling over $1.5 million in a span of three years by concealing his personal outstanding liabilities. The offences were uncovered in an investigation by the Commission, following receipt of a corruption complaint referred by the CSD.
Jivcons Man Wai-kit, 49, then Assistant Officer I of the CSD, faces 17 counts of fraud, contrary to section 16A of the Theft Ordinance. He was released on ICAC bail, pending his appearance at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (March 14) for plea.
At the material time between September 2020 and September 2023, the defendant was posted to Tung Tau Correctional Institution. During the period, he had applied for various loans from the CSDCU and a number of financial institutions.
The charges allege that when the defendant made applications for 17 of the loans, he falsely represented that he had fully disclosed his liabilities in the application forms and all information he provided in the application forms was true, accurate and complete, and with intent to deceive the CSDCU into granting him a loan of $94,000, and to defraud three other financial institutions of 16 other loans, each ranging from $50,000 to over $140,000, totalling over $1.42 million.
ICAC enquiries revealed that the defendant had not disclosed his outstanding loans when making the 17 loan applications. Had he made full disclosure of his outstanding liabilities, the CSDCU and the three financial institutions would not have granted him the loans concerned. Enquires also found that the defendant had not fully repaid some of the loans. At least over $350,000 was yet to be repaid.
An ICAC spokesperson notes that integrity of civil servants is of paramount importance as the civil service is the backbone of the government’s effective governance. The ICAC continues to help civil servants to enhance their integrity level through publicity and education, and reminds them to exercise financial prudence and uphold probity.
The CSD, CSDCU and all financial institutions concerned rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
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