Four employees of former TD car testing centre charged by ICAC for fraud over falsified annual examination results

The ICAC today (March 24) charged four employees of a former designated car testing centre (DCTC) of the Transport Department (TD) for allegedly assisting a number of private cars to pass the annual vehicle examination by falsifying exhaust emission test results. Following ICAC’s law enforcement action, TD had removed the centre from the list of DCTCs.

Wong Lap-yan, 48, former responsible person (RP) of MD Motors CTC-HK Limited (MD Motors), faces one count of attempted fraud, contrary to section 16A(1) of the Theft Ordinance and section 159G of the Crimes Ordinance.

Three former approved car testers (ACTs) of MD Motors, namely Lau Chi-keung and Tam Kin-kwong, both 67; and Robert Ho Ka-wah, 42, jointly face one count of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to the Common Law.

The four defendants were released on ICAC bail. The case is set for mention at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday (March 26). The prosecution will later apply to transfer the case to the District Court for plea.

According to the Road Traffic Ordinance, before licence renewal, all private vehicles manufactured for six years or more are required to undergo an annual examination at a DCTC appointed by the TD. ACTs are responsible for conducting the annual vehicle examination under the supervision of RPs, and issuing a certificate of roadworthiness for each vehicle which has passed the examination for the car owner to renew its licence.

At the material time, MD Motors was a DCTC of TD. One of the charges alleges that between June 2022 and June 2024, three ACTs of MD Motors Lau, Tam and Ho, had conspired together with six other employees, including the manager of the centre, Wong as well as other RPs and other ACTs, to deceive the TD into approving the renewal of vehicle licences of a number of private cars by improperly conducting the annual vehicle examinations of those private vehicles, and falsely represented in the certificates of roadworthiness that the vehicles were roadworthy.

Another charge alleges that in May 2024, Wong had improperly conducted the annual vehicle examination of a private car, and falsely represented that the vehicle was roadworthy, and with intent to defraud, attempted to induce the TD to approve the renewal of the vehicle licence of that private car.

The ICAC investigation arose from corruption complaints. It was revealed that the four defendants had allegedly falsified results of the exhaust emission test to facilitate private vehicles in passing the annual vehicle examination for making licence renewal applications to the TD. The investigation revealed that the scam involved falsified results of the exhaust emission test. Other test results relating to safety issues were believed to be unaffected.

The TD rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case, and had immediately delisted MD Motors from the list of DCTCs following ICAC’s enforcement actions. Meanwhile, the four defendants were no longer appointed as RP or ACT.

Following the findings of this case, the TD has immediately implemented a series of initiatives to stamp out malpractices. The ICAC has also completed a corruption prevention review of the vehicle inspection procedures at designated vehicle testing centres and the monitoring procedures of the TD. A number of recommendations were made, including conducting an overall review of the vehicle inspection procedures and providing detailed procedural instructions for vehicle inspections. The TD is proactively implementing the recommendations to mitigate corruption risks in the relevant procedures.