Traffic accident subsidies under review

Henry Siu

The government will review the details of the traffic accident subsidy scheme, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said, after police arrested 275 people for allegedly staging 121 accidents to obtain over HK$14 million in government financial assistance.

Speaking at the Legislative Council meeting yesterday, Sun said the Social Welfare Department is reviewing its procedures to prevent abuse or fraud in the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance scheme.

According to the scheme, the amount of subsidy is based on the number of sick leave or hospitalization days, up to 180 days.

"We noticed that people can apply for subsidies for up to 180 days of sick leave, which is about half a year. We believe it's necessary to review the arrangement to see if the period should be cut shorter," Sun said.

"Also, there are various types of subsidies for the injured and those who are not able to work. We think there are too many of them and we will manage to integrate these schemes."

Sun also said authorities will consider adjusting the amount of the subsidies based on the government's financial condition.

To prevent abuse or fraudulent claims, the department has reviewed its case vetting workflow and increased random checks of medical certificates submitted by applicants, he said.

Officers will also strengthen the verification of whether the applicant has made any claims for damages or compensation through other means for the same traffic accident, he added.

"Over the past three years, the Social Welfare Department has verified medical certificates with public or private medical institutions for a total of about 5,600 times. The department officers will continue to process the applications under the established procedures after confirming or clarifying the relevant medical assessments," Sun said.

He noted that the department has referred 575 cases to the police for investigation in the past three years. The department will immediately cease processing any relevant cases suspected to be involved and will subsequently refer them to the police, Sun added.

The department will require those who reapply to provide more detailed information about the accidents and will also analyze whether those concerned also share common or suspicious elements.

"The department will clearly explain to the applicants that obtaining [the assistance] payments by deception is a serious criminal offense," he said, noting that the maximum penalty for the offense is 14 years of imprisonment.

henry.siu@singtaonewscorp.com