FTP Lifelong Learning Seminar Reflective Journal on :

The seminartalked about the frauds in relation to property agents. Speaker - Mr. Chung is a solicitor who presented seven real cases. Out of all cases, four of them were found in particular interest and are summarized below. An estate agent couple and the property owner conspired together to defraud Citibank in 1981 by dishonestly causing Citi bank to make an excessive and inadequately secured mortgage advance of a quarter of a million dollars against a newer village house, Lot 212, Yuen Long by representing that lot as being a ruin village house, Lot No. 101, Yuen Long. The bank was defrauded because it lent $250,000 on the security of property that was really worth $70,000 to $80,000. The estate agent was sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment, and the estate agents wife and the property owner was sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment suspended for three years. In mid 2005, Mr. Chan Ngan Lau the Managing Director of Centaline Property Agency Limited was engaged as the agent in a property transaction. Subsequently, in response to the request of Mr. Ho Wai Jon the General Manager of Li & Fung Trading Limited, Mr. Chan Ngan Lau took $800,000 from the commission payable to Centaline by the employer of Li & Fung and then gave that sum to Mr. Ho Wai Jon as a reward for his causing Li & Fung to engage Centaline as its estate agent.. For that purpose, Mr. Chan Ngan Lau, having made a false claim to Centaline that his own company Wang Him had rendered services to Property Agency Limited, took $1,000,000 as consultancy fee, of which $800,000 was given to Mr. Ho Wai Jon and the remaining $200,000 was retained for tax payment by the company that had been used as the vehicle of swindling the money. Mr. Chan Ngan Lau was indicted for four charges. Three of them were for the offences of offering advantages to an agent, the remaining one was for the offence of conspiracy to defraud. And Mr. Ho Wai Jon was charged with two counts of accepting advantages as an agent Mr. Russel Hui and Mr. Mok King Yu were prosecuted for conspired to defraud in purchasing apartments in the Merton, and then, almost immediately, sold them on to third parties, the two offenders failed to declare that there had been two independent agreements and each attracting a revenue payment. Mr. Russel Hui and Mr. Mok King Yu were sentenced to 10 months imprisonment and to serve a term of 12 months respectively. Mr. Chan Leung Yiu a property consultant of Flourish Property Agency Ltd. and Mr. Lai Chi Sang - Mr. Chan Leung Yius superior concealed an offer from Cerie to buy Timegresss property at Mita Centre and induced Timegress to sell the property to Fung (another client of Flourish) at a lower price. The concealment was a deceit and both of them fraudulently induced Timegress to accept the lower price. Such fraudulent act resulted in benefit to Fung, Flourish, and Mr. Chan Leung Yiu or prejudice to Timegress. Mr. Chan Leung Yiu and Mr. Lai Chi Sang were jointly charged with one count of Fraud, and were sentenced to imprisonment for seven months and eight months respectively.

FTP Lifelong Learning Seminar Reflective Journal on :

I think the seminar is very informative and useful. The speaker gave a detailed analysis on each case from a professional point of view and made the cases very interesting. After this seminar, I will pay particular precaution in frauds on property sales and purchase.