Woman admits laundering linked to staged crimes for sentence reductions 

A 27-year-old woman pleaded guilty to money laundering at the District Court on Tuesday for her role in fake crime plots staged by a remand inmate at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre to secure judicial leniency for other inmates by tipping off the police. 

The case was uncovered by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), which foiled two planned crimes involving the possession of unlawful arms, explosives or drugs, leading to the prosecution of five individuals. Four of them were sentenced after entering guilty pleas. 

The remaining defendant, Cheng Lok-lam, earlier pleaded not guilty to one count of dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable offense. The trial was originally scheduled for Monday, but Cheng entered a guilty plea on Tuesday. 

Deputy Judge Li Chi-ho adjourned the case until Wednesday for mitigation and allowed Cheng to remain on bail.

The four co-defendants were Sammy Wong Kok-sum, an inmate of the center; his girlfriend Lau Chun-yee and his two associates Kwan Yu-hin and Wan Chin-pang. 

The four had previously pleaded guilty to a total of four charges, two of conspiracy to pervert the course of public justice, one of money laundering and one of failing to surrender to custody without reasonable cause. They were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one year to three years and six weeks. 

The case stemmed from a corruption investigation by the watchdog. Between September 2021 and May 2022, Wong was remanded in the center, where he met two other inmates who were respectively involved in a robbery case and a drug trafficking case. Both cases were pending mention at the High Court. 

The court heard that Wong proposed to Lau and other associates a plan to stage two crimes. The aim was for the two fellow inmates to provide information to the police to help solve the cases and support their applications for reduced sentences.

In return, the families of the two inmates agreed to pay Wong rewards of HK$250,000 and HK$1.25 million, respectively.  

Lau and Kwan subsequently coordinated the entire operation and contacted relevant parties according to Wong’s instructions. The duo prepared to purchase a high-energy illegal air gun and obtained a manufacturing guide to prepare explosives. They also planned to conceal these illegal items at a premises and arranged for a scapegoat to be arrested by the police at the scene. 

Early intervention by the ICAC prevented the two pre-arranged crimes from taking place. 

Wan and the latest convicted defendant, Cheng, were found to have handled around HK$320,000 of the rewards paid by one of the inmates’ families to help coordinate one of the cases.

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓