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A public rental housing (PRH) tenant was today (May 16) jailed for two months after being convicted at the Tsuen Wan Magistrates' Court for making false statements in his application for public housing.
The court heard that in 2002 the tenant applied for a PRH unit with his brother who declared his marital status as 'single'. In October, 2005, they were allocated a two-to-three-person flat of about 22 square metres at Kwai Chung Estate. Two months later, the defendant applied to delete his brother's name from the tenancy of the unit. In processing the deletion application, the Housing Department found that the defendant's brother had already been married in March, 2005 - before the flat allocation.
Further investigation by department staff revealed the defendant might have knowingly made false declaration during the intake interview, thus contravening section 26(1)(c) of the Housing Ordinance.
The court was told that if the defendant had disclosed the fact during the intake interview in 2005, he would not have been eligible for public housing. The defendant was prosecuted in December, 2006, for having knowingly made false statements in his application for a PRH unit.
The defendant was convicted on April 24 and was remanded in custody from May 2 pending sentence today.
A department spokesman warned PRH applicants against knowingly making false statements in their applications for public housing units, as it was a criminal offence which carried a penalty of a fine of $50,000 and six months' imprisonment. Where appropriate, a further fine may be imposed by the court.
The spokesman said that PRH applicants were required to provide accurate and true information. The Housing Department will investigate suspicious cases and institute prosecution action as appropriate.
The department will take action to recover the PRH unit from the defendant.
Ends/Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Issued at HKT 14:56
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