Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024

Ex-CHP consultant admits misconduct and fraud totaling $4.2mn from overseas organizations

Ex-CHP consultant admits misconduct and fraud totaling $4.2mn from overseas organizations

A former consultant of the Centre of Health Protection (CHP) admitted that he had committed misconduct and fraud by abusing his official capacity for personal gain in tuberculosis drug testing and other services, worth totaling over HK$4.2 million.
64-year-old Joseph Kam Kai-man, former Consultant Medical Microbiologist of the CHP of the Department of Health, pleaded guilty to six charges – four of misconduct in public office and two of fraud at the District Court on Monday.

The defendant joined the Department of Health (DH) in 1984 and assumed the post of Consultant Medical Microbiologist since 1997. The above offenses took place between September 2005 and March 2014.

The defendant was in charge of several laboratories, including the Hong Kong Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory (HKTRL) operated by DH, which was recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a supranational reference laboratory for conducting anti-tuberculosis drug susceptibility testing.

The defendant admitted that on different occasions, he had made false representations to three international and overseas organizations and their representatives that the Hong Kong Association of Medical Microbiologists (HKAMM) set up by him was a public institution which was the same as the DH, a working partner of the HKTRL or a non-profit agency equivalent to the HKTRL.

He also falsely claimed that he had the authority of the DH or the HKTRL to enter into services agreements with the three organizations. Afterward, he arranged the HKTRL to provide the relevant services to the three organizations and received payments from them on behalf of the DH and the HKTRL.

The three organizations concerned were the WHO, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases of Japan (NIID) and the Switzerland-based non-profit organization Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND).

ICAC inquiries revealed that the HKAMM was a non-profit making organization set up in 1992 by the defendant and other local microbiologists upon his invitation. The defendant was its chairman between 1992 and 1999. Since then, he was in sole control of a bank account opened in the name of the HKAMM.

The court heard that the defendant subsequently received through the above bank account grants totaling JPY15 million (about HK$1.28 million) from the NIID for organizing seven workshops and a meeting relating to the tracking of foodborne infections.

In addition, the defendant entered into three agreements with the WHO and signed two memoranda of understanding with the FIND, and received services fees of about US$64,000 (about HK$500,000) and about US$240,000 (about HK$1.86 million) respectively from the two organizations for HKTRL’s provision of anti-tuberculosis drug susceptibility testing services and relevant training and technical assistance.

The defendant started his pre-retirement leave in late September 2012 and retired from the DH in mid-April 2013. ICAC inquiries also revealed that during the pre-retirement leave, he induced the WHO representative to enter into three other agreements and transfer sums totaling about US$80,000 (about HK$620,000) in respect of the agreements on training and anti-tuberculosis drug susceptibility testing into the above bank account controlled by the defendant.

Deputy Judge Katherine Lo Kit-yee adjourned the case to June 17 for sentence. The defendant was remanded in custody of the Correctional Services Department.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×