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An applicant for a public rental housing (PRH) unit has recently been convicted and fined $20,000 at the Kwun Tong Magistracy for knowingly making false statements in his application.
The defendant knowingly made false statements in respect of his marital status and his average monthly income, thus contravening the relevant provisions of the Housing Ordinance.
The Court heard that although the defendant was re-married, he declared on his application form that he was a divorcee. He also made a false statement with respect to his average monthly income.
A Housing Department (HD) spokesman today (December 2) reminds PRH applicants against making false statements knowingly in their applications, as the doing so is a criminal offence. The offence carries a maximum penalty of a fine of $50,000 and six months' imprisonment. Applicants have all been reminded of the seriousness of the offence at the time of application.
The spokesman stresses that PRH applicants are required to provide accurate and true information. HD would carry out investigation in suspicious cases and institute prosecution action as appropriate.
Ends/Saturday, December 2, 2006
Issued at HKT 11:18
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