Three persons were charged by ICAC for allegedly conspiring to deceive an insurance company in applications for critical illness and medical insurance claims. The scam involved 10 insurance policies and the claims amounted to about HK$37.5 million.
Wong Ka-keung, 43, former insurance agent of AIA International Limited (AIA); Lo Chun-kit, 44, driver; and Leung Wai-kin, 40, renovation worker, have been jointly charged with two counts of conspiracy to defraud. Wong alone further faces four similar offences and three counts of forgery.
The defendants will appear in the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts on Tuesday for mention.
The alleged offences took place between October 2017 and December 2020. At the material time, Wong was an insurance agent of AIA who assisted Lo in taking out two insurance policies with AIA.
Two of the charges allege that Wong, Lo and Leung conspired together with other persons to defraud AIA by dishonestly falsely representing that Lo had been diagnosed with cancer and that the medical expenses incurred were for his treatments; thereby causing and inducing AIA to approve the critical illness and medical expenses claims made by Lo and to pay him compensations in accordance with the two insurance policies took out by Lo.
Four other charges allege that Wong conspired together with other persons to defraud AIA by dishonestly falsely representing that Wong and the two policyholders (the trio) had been diagnosed with different types of cancer; thereby causing and inducing AIA to approve the critical illness claims made by the trio and to pay them compensations in accordance with eight insurance policies taken out by them.
It is alleged that Wong, Lo arranged cancer patients, including Leung, to pose as relevant policyholders to undergo examinations at various clinical institutions so as to obtain the required medical certificates.
ICAC investigation revealed that Wong was the handling agent of all of the above 10 insurance policies and the policyholder of six of them. The critical illness and medical expenses claims in relation to those insurance policies amounted to about HK$37.5 million.
The remaining charges allege that Wong made three false certificates of sickness with the intention that one of the imposters in the scam should use them to induce somebody to accept them as genuine.
The ICAC calls on insurance practitioners to adhere to their pledge to integrity and urges members of public and policyholders not to take part in any insurance-related corrupt and illegal activities.
