Four months’ jail for former employee of insurer for corruption over motor insurance of 600 new taxis

A former employee of an insurance company, charged by the ICAC, was today (July 18) sentenced at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts to four months’ imprisonment for soliciting a bribe from a director of a broker firm for assisting a client to take out motor insurance policies for 600 new taxis, involving premiums totalling over $24 million.

Wong Ka-wing, 39, former team head of Bank of China Group Insurance Company Limited (BOCGI), was earlier found guilty after trial of one count of agent soliciting an advantage, contrary to section 9(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance.

In sentencing, Magistrate Mr Kestrel Lam Tsz-hong remarked that the defendant had made use of this position to initiate bribe solicitations, constituting an offence which is serious in nature. Although the defendant eventually could not collect any bribes, society has no tolerance for corruption and the court had to mete out a custodial sentence.

The offence in the present case took place between November 2022 and January 2023. At that time, the defendant was the team head of the brokers and agency business marketing department of BOCGI, which was responsible for liaising with broker firms, including Pro Insurance & Financial Management Limited (Pro Insurance), for selling insurance products such as motor insurance.

Pro Insurance would arrange its clients to take out motor insurance policies from BOCGI for new taxis, and receive 5 per cent of the yearly premium of each policy from BOCGI as commission.

In mid-2022, a client of Pro Insurance planned to take out vehicle insurance policies for over 600 new taxis. During the negotiation with BOCGI, a director of Pro Insurance proposed to lower the annual premium per vehicle from $45,500 to $40,000, or to increase the commission payable to Pro Insurance to 7.5 per cent.

The court heard that the defendant subsequently told the director of Pro Insurance that he would assist Pro Insurance to secure BOCGI’s approval of the insurance policy agreement, and repeatedly solicited from the latter a bribe, ranging from 1 to 3 per cent of the total yearly insurance premiums of the agreement.

The director of Pro Insurance rejected the solicitation. If the bribery scheme had materialised, the total yearly premiums for over 600 new taxis, each paying $40,000 per year, would have been over $24 million. Meanwhile, the bribe concerned would have amounted to over $240,000.

BOCGI rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.

The prosecution was today represented by prosecuting counsel Anita Ma, assisted by ICAC officer Betty Wong.