Hong Kong’s graft-buster charges doctor with fraud for allegedly tricking Hospital Authority out of HK$110,000
- Doctor accused of making false declarations on attendance records resulting in him being paid for work he did not do
- Independent Commission Against Corruption reminds public servants to uphold high standard of integrity to maintain public trust
A doctor has been charged with fraud for allegedly deceiving Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority into paying him HK$110,000 (US$14,100) for extra services he was not performing.
Wong Man-ho, 33, a resident doctor at Yan Chai Hospital in Tsuen Wan, allegedly made false declarations about the hours he worked at other facilities more than 60 times between 2017 and 2019, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Wednesday said.
Wong joined the authority in 2013 and has been a resident doctor at Yan Chai Hospital since January 2017.
The ICAC said Wong generally worked from 9am to 5pm on weekdays and 9am to 1pm on Saturdays. Sometimes, he performed on-call duty rotation.
The anti-graft agency alleged Wong deceived the Hospital Authority into paying him HK$110,000 through false declarations on his attendance records related to services he performed at Tuen Mun Hospital’s accident and emergency department.
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The Hospital Authority provided medical staff with a special honorarium on an hourly basis for extra tasks performed outside their “normal duties” to cope with excessive service demands, the ICAC said.
An investigation, triggered by a corruption complaint referred from the authority, found that Wong’s normal hours at Yan Chai Hospital overlapped with his reported ones at Tuen Mun Hospital on more than 60 occasions between 2017 and 2019, amounting to 170 hours.
Wong was charged with one count of fraud by the anti-graft agency and released on bail. He is expected to appear at West Kowloon Court on Friday.
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The Hospital Authority rendered full assistance during the investigation, the anti-graft agency said.
“The ICAC reminds public servants to uphold a high standard of integrity through education and publicity, so as to meet public expectations and maintain public trust,” it said.
