Housing officer admits misconduct for falsely claiming approvals
A Housing Department officer pleaded guilty to misconduct for falsely telling two applicants their requests were approved without submitting them for review. She forged a tenancy addition and an activity approval letter. Sentencing is set for 10 November.
A Housing Department estate officer has admitted a charge of misconduct in public office after she falsely told two applicants that the Housing Authority had approved their requests, when in fact she had never submitted them for review. The case was heard at West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on 27 October.
The defendant, 36-year-old Ng Ming-yi, has been suspended from duty. Between October 2022 and October 2024, while working at the Housing Department office in Tai Wo Hau Estate, she handled one application to add a family member to a public housing tenancy and one application from a non-governmental organisation to hold a community activity.
According to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), which brought the prosecution, Ng did not submit either application to the Housing Officer for approval. Instead, she told the applicants that the Housing Authority had already approved their requests. She also unauthorisedly added a family member to the tenant's rental agreement and issued an approval letter for the activity under the Housing Department's name.
Magistrate Hung Suet-yu ordered Ng to pay the government about HK$34,000 in compensation, equivalent to the additional rent the tenant should have paid to the Housing Authority. The case was adjourned to 10 November for sentencing, with the defendant granted bail pending the preparation of a community service order report.
