Ex-engineering company director accused of fraud over work payments

The Independent Commission Against Corruption said today a former director of an engineering company has been charged with deceiving a building maintenance service provider into making payments for air-conditioning maintenance works for 13 years totaling about HK$390,000.

Chu Lin-tak, 68, former director cum shareholder of Windfall Engineering Limited, faces one count of conspiracy to defraud, and will appear at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on Friday.

The Jardine Engineering Corporation Limited is a building maintenance service provider. Technical staff members of Jardine Engineering are authorized to contract out maintenance works, including air-conditioning maintenance works, to its approved subcontractors.

The ICAC said at the material time, the defendant was a director cum shareholder of Windfall Engineering. Windfall Engineering and another engineering company operated by a friend of the defendant were both approved subcontractors of Jardine Engineering.

The charge alleges that between an unknown day in 2005 and April 9, 2018, the defendant conspired together with two then technical staff members of Jardine Engineering to defraud the company by falsely representing that works stated on invoices of the two aforesaid approved subcontractors, including Windfall Engineering, had been completed, thereby causing and inducing Jardine Engineering to make payments to the two approved subcontractors.

It is alleged that Jardine Engineering was caused to make payments for air-conditioning maintenance works totaling about HK$390,000 to the two approved subcontractors.

Chu was released on ICAC bail.