Ex-sergeant jailed for accepting unauthorized loans and defrauding Police Credit Union

A former police sergeant was jailed for 22 months on Tuesday for asking for and accepting some HK$440,000 in loans from three colleagues and defrauding over HK$80,000 from the Hong Kong Police Credit Union between 2018 and 2021. 

The 54-year-old defendant Wong Chi-ming appeared before Deputy Judge Ada Yim Shun-yee at the District Court today. 

He pleaded guilty to 11 charges, including five of prescribed officer accepting an advantage, three of prescribed officer soliciting an advantage, one of agent using document with intent to deceive his principal, one of doing acts intended to pervert the course of public justice, and one of fraud. 

Wong joined the force in 1998 and became a station sergeant in 2016. At the material time in early December 2020, Wong was posted to a Patrol Sub-Unit of Tin Sum Division. 

The court heard that Wong accepted seven loans totaling over HK$360,000 from two subordinates surnamed Ng and Tse between May 2020 and April 2021. He also accepted another HK$80,000 loan from his supervisor, a police inspector surnamed Lee. 

In mid-December 2018, Wong applied to the police for early retirement and re-employment on agreement terms. When declaring his financial status, Wong concealed his outstanding debts totaling about HK$1.4 million owed to various banking and financial institutions by making false representations. 

Wong was finally granted a HK$80,000 loan from the Police Credit Union. 

The ICAC then launched an investigation after receiving a corruption complaint and conducted a cautioned interview with Wong on April 7, 2021. After the interview, Wong instructed Ng to delete phone messages concerning his loans and further instructed Ng to lie to the ICAC that he only borrowed HK$2,200 from Ng once. 

In mitigation, the defense said Wong has been working as a taxi driver to repay his debts, and his financial situation remains difficult. 

Judge Yim noted that Wong served the force for 30 years and had been performing well. Because of this case and his overwhelming debts, Wong’s daughter couldn’t continue her studies, and his son was under pressure amid the DSE exams, Yim also said. 

She continued that Wong was a police officer and should be well aware of the consequences of breaking the law. Taking Wong’s guilty plea and the mitigating factors into account, Yim started Wong’s jail term at three years and reduced it to 22 months. 

Yim also ordered Wong, who had accepted over HK$2.5 million in pension, to repay the government HK$5 only so that Wong wouldn’t go into bankruptcy.