Electrician jailed over fake A-grade licence documents
HK01 · 5 SOURCESabout 3 hours ago5 MIN
Summary
A former registered electrician at Konor Lighting & Sound Engineering Co. Ltd. was sentenced at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on October 12 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud over a fraudulent Grade A electrical worker licence application. The court heard he helped an applicant submit false employment records to the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, and received HK$15,000 during the application process.
Key Points
- Defendant Chan Kwok-wai (陳國威), 45, formerly a registered electrician at Konor Lighting & Sound Engineering Co. Ltd., admitted one common law count of conspiracy to defraud.
- Magistrate Chan Wai-man set a three-month starting point and reduced the sentence to two months’ imprisonment after Chan’s guilty plea at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts.
- The 49-year-old applicant had applied for a Grade A electrical worker registration in mid-2021, but was asked by EMSD to provide further proof of work experience.
- Supplementary documents falsely claimed the applicant worked for Konor from September 2011 to December 2015 under Chan’s supervision, though the company had never employed him.
- ICAC said Chan was not authorized to issue the certificate, the applicant’s licence has been cancelled, and the co-defendant’s case was adjourned to November 19 for plea.
Why It Matters
Electrical work in Hong Kong can only be carried out by personnel registered with EMSD, and Grade A registration is the entry-level qualification requiring at least five years’ experience, including one year under a registered electrician’s supervision. ICAC said false registration can undermine the quality of electrical works and endanger public safety, and it has already made anti-corruption recommendations to EMSD, which the department has implemented.