Ex-lawmaker, son jailed for fraud

Eunice Lam

Former lawmaker Chim Pui-chung has been sentenced to 34 months in prison after he and son Ricky Chim Kim-lun were convicted of conspiracy to defraud the stock exchange and a listed company in 2013.

Ricky Chim was jailed for 37 months.

In December, District Court Judge Ernest Lin Kam-hung found the 79-year-old Chim and his son guilty of two counts of conspiracy to defraud.

The case included the conviction of 68-year-old businesswoman Wong Poe-lai, who received a 24-month jail sentence for money laundering.

Chim was a legislator representing the financial services sector between 2004 and 2012.

He was a substantial shareholder of the listed company Asia Resources Holdings while his son was the chairman from 2008 to 2014.

They were accused of conspiring with absconded merchant Ma Zhonghong to defraud the HKEX and Asia Resources' board of directors and shareholders through a "secret backdoor listing" agreement.

Ma was said to have paid HK$210 million to the father and son to take over between 70 percent and 75 percent of Asia Resources stocks between July 1, 2013 and November 15, 2015.

Lin reprimanded the two for undermining Hong Kong's reputation as a financial center and making an adverse impact on the monitoring mechanism.

Lin noted that the senior Chim was the instigator of the scam while his son had abused his official capacity and the trust placed in him by the board of directors of the listed company and the public.

While the two were equally liable, the judge took a starting point of 48 months' imprisonment. After considering various mitigating factors, their jail terms were reduced.

A spokesman for the Independent Commission Against Corruption said it has applied for a confiscation order with the District Court to recover the crime proceeds.

"The commission will continue its close collaboration with financial regulators to combat corruption and related crimes involving listed companies to uphold the integrity of the Hong Kong financial market," he said.

The ICAC said the case stemmed from a corruption complaint by the Securities and Futures Commission.

Chim and his son, Wong and Ma were prosecuted in November 2021.

In October 2022, the corruption watchdog issued an arrest warrant for Ma after the merchant failed to attend the court hearing. It added that the warrant is still in effect.

Chim Pui-chung was first elected as a lawmaker in 1991, representing the financial services constituency. In September 1998, he was impeached and disqualified by the Legislative Council for conspiring to forge documents.

Additionally, the ICAC prosecuted him for bribing electors during the 1998 Legco election and fined him HK$100,000.

Chim was released from prison in 1999.

In 2004, he was reelected unopposed as a legislator for the same constituency - and again in 2008.

He had sought reelection in 2012 but withdrew from the race. The father and son ran for the 2016 Legco election and lost.

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com