Salesman of groceries supplier charged by ICAC gets 47 months’ jail for fraud over goods worth $12m

A then senior sales executive of a groceries supplier, charged by the ICAC, was today (July 17) sentenced at the District Court to 47 months’ imprisonment for making false representations about the orders placed by various clients to induce the supplier to release goods worth totalling over $12 million in nine months and reselling them for personal gain.

Mak Ka-wing, 46, former senior sales executive of Dah Chong Hong Limited (DCH), earlier pleaded guilty to 32 counts of fraud, contrary to section 16A of the Theft Ordinance.

In sentencing, Deputy Judge Ms Stephanie Tsui May-har said the defendant had abused the high degree of trust his employer put in him to commit offences constituting a breach of trust. He had premeditated and plotted a scam by fabricating over 400 orders and company chops of clients, causing his employer to suffer significant financial losses and dealing it a heavy blow in the business environment during the pandemic.

In view of the serious nature of the case, the deputy judge took a starting point of 72 months’ imprisonment. She reduced the jail term to 47 months, having considered the defendant’s guilty plea and other mitigating factors.

The court heard that at the material time, the defendant was a senior sales executive of DCH’s food trading unit which engaged in the supply of groceries. He was responsible for handling groceries orders placed by clients. Upon receiving a request from a client, DCH would issue an invoice for arranging release or delivery of goods to the client.

The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint. Enquiries revealed that in the nine months between August 2020 and April 2021, the defendant had input fictitious orders into the DCH’s computer system and falsely represented that 32 clients had ordered goods from the company. As a result, DCH issued a total of 410 invoices to the clients and arranged goods worth totalling over $12 million to be released.

Enquiries also found that the defendant affixed fake company chops of clients on the receipts. He subsequently resold the goods for personal gain, but he only repaid about $280,000 to DCH.

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

The prosecution was today represented by Senior Public Prosecutor Douglas Lau, assisted by ICAC officer William Leung.