Mortgage fraud appeals by ‘Harbour Sir’ pair rejected
SingTao · 2 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
The Court of Appeal has refused applications by former police superintendent Chan Hoi-kong, nicknamed “Harbour Sir”, and businessman Wong Ho-ngai to challenge their convictions and sentences in a mortgage fraud case. Chan had been convicted on two counts of fraud, while Wong was convicted on one count and acquitted on another, over loan applications that concealed Chan’s true employment and secured more than HK$26 million in lending.
Key Points
- Chan, 53, and Wong, 51, were accused of concealing Chan’s rank as a police superintendent between May and December 2019 when applying for mortgage-related loans
- Prosecutors said they falsely claimed Chan worked for Outstanding Capital Limited and Chan’s younger brother Chan Hoi-chun worked for New Kai International Trading Limited
- The applications led Bank of East Asia and OCBC Wing Hang Credit Finance to approve loans of about HK$21.46 million and HK$4.8 million respectively
- After trial, Chan was convicted on both fraud charges and jailed for six and a half years, while Wong was convicted on the first charge, acquitted on the second, and jailed for five years.
- The appeal was heard by Court of Appeal judges Pang Wai-cheung, Derek Pang Ching-wai and Aarif Barma Yeung, who rejected both conviction and sentence challenges
Why It Matters
The ruling means the original findings and prison terms remain in force, closing off the pair’s latest attempt to overturn the case. The court’s response to the defence argument also underlines judicial scepticism toward claims that applicants for multi-million-dollar loans did not review key mortgage documents.