Three months’ jail for Sai Kung small house applicant charged by ICAC for conspiracy to defraud Lands Department over ‘Ding Right’

_{Sheung Sze Wan village with its infamous illegal yellow duck in 2021 Photo: on.cc}

A small house applicant, charged by the ICAC for conspiring with a developer to sell his “Ding Right” and deceiving the Lands Department into granting him a building licence for a small house in Sai Kung, was yesterday (25/2) sentenced at the Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts to three months’ imprisonment.

Wong Wing-hong, 50, indigenous inhabitant of Sai Kung, earlier pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to the Common Law.

In sentencing, Acting Principal Magistrate Ms Leung Ka-kie remarked that the present case was serious in nature. The defendant had defrauded the Lands Department in the application for building a small house, involving Hong Kong’s precious land resources. She took a starting point of six months’ imprisonment and reduced the jail term to three months, taking into account the defendant’s guilty plea and other mitigating factors.

Under the New Territories Small House Policy, every male indigenous inhabitant of the New Territories aged 18 or above may exercise his “Ding Right” once and apply to the Lands Department for building a small house within a recognised village of the New Territories for his own occupation. “Ding Right” is not transferrable.

The court heard that the defendant was an indigenous inhabitant of Sheung Sze Wan Village in Sai Kung. In September 1998, he applied for building a small house in the village with the Lands Department. He had submitted various documents to the Lands Department and met with its officers on different occasions.

In the course of making an application for building a small house, the defendant had conspired with a developer, Chung Kang-wah (Chung), to make false representations to the Lands Department to deceive the department into approving him to build a small house in 2018. The defendant falsely represented that he was the sole owner of the lots of land in Sheung Sze Wan Village concerned, had no intention to sell and never sold his “Ding Right” to other individual or developer, and that he had never entered into any agreement or arrangement with others to transfer or otherwise deal with his land or relevant interest.

The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint alleging selling of “Ding Rights”. Enquiries revealed that it was agreed between the defendant and Chung that the defendant exercised his “Ding Right” and Chung would construct the small house for him. Upon completion of construction, the defendant would occupy one storey of the small house and Chung would retain the ownership of the remaining two storeys. Construction of the small house was completed in 2021.

The Lands Department offered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation.

The prosecution was today represented by Senior Public Prosecutor Claudia Ng, assisted by ICAC officer Alan Wong.