ICAC charges three over $1.3m community care voucher fruad

Three people, including two operators of private care agencies, have been charged by the Independent Commission Against Corruption over an alleged HK$1.3 million fraud involving the Community Care Service Voucher Scheme for the Elderly.

The defendants are Lo Yuen-yee, 55, a registered nurse and director of Healthy Life Association Limited; Chan Yu-wai, 49, a registered occupational therapist and director and shareholder of Spark Plus Company Limited; and Mak Tsui-shan, 58, a care service officer of the two companies.

They jointly face two counts of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to common law. They have been released on bail and will appear at Eastern Magistrates’ Courts on Friday. The prosecution will later apply to transfer the case to the District Court.

According to the charges, the three allegedly conspired with 10 care workers between November 2023 and May 2025 to submit false duty records to the Social Welfare Department.

They allegedly claimed that the duty records submitted by Healthy Life Association and Spark Plus were true and accurate, inducing the department to grant subsidies to the two service providers under the voucher scheme.

ICAC investigators found that the duty records allegedly overstated home care service hours by more than 5,000 hours, involving over 130 voucher users. The two companies allegedly received more than HK$1.3 million in subsidies as a result.

The voucher scheme directly subsidizes eligible elderly people to use home care services and day care center services provided by recognized service providers.

At the time of the alleged offenses, Healthy Life Association and Spark Plus were recognized service providers under the scheme and were required to submit duty records to the Social Welfare Department after providing services to voucher users.

The ICAC said it acted after receiving a corruption complaint referred by the Social Welfare Department. The department also provided full assistance during the investigation.

The anti-graft agency said it has reviewed the operation procedures of the voucher scheme and provided practical recommendations to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.
 

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