Public rental housing applicant convicted by court for making false statement and served suspended sentence
******************************************************************************************
A PRH applicant declared during a vetting interview in March 2021 that he did not own any property. A subsequent investigation, however, revealed that he owned a domestic property at Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, at the material time. Eventually, the applicant was prosecuted for making a false statement knowingly, contrary to Section 26(1)(c) of the Housing Ordinance, and was previously convicted in Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts. The presiding magistrate considered that the gravity of the offence would not be adequately reflected by just a fine. After making reference to the probation report, the defendant was sentenced to fourteen days' imprisonment (suspended for 12 months) and fined $2,000 today.
The spokesman for the HD reminded all PRH applicants that if they are convicted by the court for making a false statement knowingly in respect of an application for a PRH lease, contrary to Section 26(1)(c) of the Housing Ordinance, the maximum penalty is a fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months, while the PRH application will also be cancelled, and any allocated PRH unit will be recovered by the HD.
Ends/Monday, July 4, 2022
Issued at HKT 17:51
Issued at HKT 17:51
NNNN