HKSAR v. Pang Chi Fung

DCCC 78/2022

[2022] HKDC 1455

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO 78 OF 2022

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REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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1.Mr Pang pleaded guilty before me to 20 charges of False accounting, contrary to section 19(1)(a)  of the Theft Ordinance, Cap 210.

2.The particulars of Charges 1 to 6 are that he, on or about a date A, in Hong Kong, dishonestly and with a view to gain for himself or another or with intent to cause loss to another, falsified a record made or required for an accounting purpose, namely a balance sheet of Shanghai PPS Sheng Mao Environmental Services Limited dated B by making entries therein which were or may have been misleading, false or deceptive in a material particular in that they purported to show that the other receivables of Shanghai PPS Sheng Mao Environmental Services Limited were of a total amount of Yuan 4,272.00 Renminbi; and the balance of the current account of Shanghai PPS Sheng Mao Environmental Services Limited with Shenzhen Environmental Services Limited was of a total amount of Yuan C Renminbi.

3.For Charge 1:

(a)  A was 1 August 2020;

(b)  B was July 2020; and

(c)  C was 2,000,000.00.

4.For Charge 2:

(a)  A was 1 September 2020;

(b)  B was August 2020; and

(c)  C was 3,000,000.00.

5.For Charge 3:

(a)  A was 1 October 2020;

(b)  B was 30 September 2020; and

(c)  C was 5,000,000.00.

6.For Charge 4:

(a)  A was 1 November 2020;

(b)  B was 31 October 2020; and

(c)  C was 5,000,000.00.

7.For Charge 5:

(a)  A was 1 December 2020;

(b)  B was 30 November 2020; and

(c)  C was 5,000,000.00.

8.For Charge 6:

(a)  A was 1 January 2021;

(b)  B was 31 December 2020; and

(c)  C was 5,000,000.00.

9.The particulars of Charges 7 to 16 are that he, on or about a date D, in Hong Kong, dishonestly and with a view to gain for himself or another or with intent to cause loss to another, falsified a record made or required for an accounting purpose, namely a balance sheet of Shenzhen Environmental Services Limited dated E by making entries therein which were or may have been misleading, false or deceptive in a material particular in that they purported to show that the balance of the current account of Shenzhen Environmental Services Limited with Shenzhen PPS Green City Services Limited was of a total amount of Yuan 0.00 Renminbi; FF and (except in the case of Charge 12 where this part does not apply)  the cash at bank and in hand of Shenzhen Environmental Services Limited was of a total amount of Yuan G Renminbi.

10.For Charge 7:

(a)  D was 1 January 2019;

(b)  E was December 2018;

(c)  FF was “Nil”; and

(d)  G was 1,087,311.40.

11.For Charge 8:

(a)  D was 1 June 2019;

(b)  E was May 2019;

(c)  FF was “Nil”; and

(d)  G was 2,086,453.17.

12.For Charge 9:

(a)  D was 1 November 2019;

(b)  E was October 2019;

(c)  FF was “Nil”; and

(d)  G was 2,547.72.

13.For Charge 10:

(a)  D was 1 April 2020;

(b)  E was March 2020;

(c)  FF was “Nil”; and

(d)  G was 2,051,150.41.

14.For Charge 11:

(a)  D was 1 June 2020;

(b)  E was May 2020;

(c)  FF was “Nil”; and

(d)  G was 3,705,706.17.

15.For Charge 12:

(a)  D was 1 September 2020;

(b)  E was August 2020;

(c)  FF was “and the balance of the current account of Shenzhen Environmental Services Limited with Shanghai PPS Sheng Mao Environmental Services Limited was of a total amount of Yuan 3,000,000.00 Renminbi (negative).”; and

(d)  G - not applicable.

16.For Charge 13:

(a)  D was 1 October 2020;

(b)  E was September 2020;

(c)  FF was “the balance of the current account of Shenzhen Environmental Services Limited with Shanghai PPS Sheng Mao Environmental Services Limited was of a total amount of Yuan 5,000,000.00 Renminbi (negative)”; and

(d)  G was 6,652,350.14.

17.For Charge 14:

(a)  D was 1 November 2020;

(b)  E was October 2020;

(c)  FF was “the balance of the current account of Shenzhen Environmental Services Limited with Shanghai PPS Sheng Mao Environmental Services Limited was of a total amount of Yuan 5,000,000.00 Renminbi (negative)”; and

(d)  G was 6,959,657.10.

18.For Charge 15:

(a)  D was 1 December 2020;

(b)  E was November 2020;

(c)  FF was “the balance of the current account of Shenzhen Environmental Services Limited with Shanghai PPS Sheng Mao Environmental Services Limited was of a total amount of Yuan 5,000,000.00 Renminbi (negative)”; and

(d)  G was 6,694,377.06.

19.For Charge 16:

(a)  D was 1 January 2021;

(b)  E was December 2020;

(c)  FF was “the balance of the current account of Shenzhen Environmental Services Limited with Shanghai PPS Sheng Mao Environmental Services Limited was of a total amount of Yuan 5,000,000.00 Renminbi (negative)”; and

(d)  G was 3,279,864.90.

20.The particulars of Charges 17 to 20 are that he, on or about a date H, in Hong Kong, dishonestly and with a view to gain for himself or another or with intent to cause loss to another, falsified a record made or required for an accounting purpose, namely a balance sheet of Shenzhen PPS Green City Services Limited dated J by making entries therein which were or may have been misleading, false or deceptive in a material particular in that they purported to show that the balance of the current account of Shenzhen PPS Green City Services Limited with Shenzhen Environmental Services Limited was of a total amount of Yuan 1,341,306.36 Renminbi (negative); and the petty cash of Shenzhen PPS Green City Services Limited was of a total amount of Yuan K Renminbi; LL.

21.For Charge 17:

(a)  H was 1 July 2019;

(b)  J was June 2019;

(c)  K was 25,516.55; and

(d)  LL was “Nil”.

22.For Charge 18:

(a)  H was 1 January 2020;

(b)  J was December 2019;

(c)  K was 8,469.25; and

(d)  LL was “and the balance of the current account of Shenzhen PPS Green City Services Limited with Shenzhen Ping On Bank account numbered 11014998 757003 was of a total amount of Yuan 333,814.03 Renminbi”.

23.For Charge 19:

(a)  H was 1 April 2020;

(b)  J was March 2020;

(c)  K was 192,722.65; and

(d)  LL was “and the balance of the current account of Shenzhen PPS Green City Services Limited with Shenzhen Ping On Bank account numbered 11014998 757003 was of a total amount of Yuan 423,708.49 Renminbi”.

24.For Charge 20:

(a)  H was 1 November 2020;

(b)  J was October 2020;

(c)  K was 0.00; and

(d)  LL was “and by omitting from the said balance sheet a material particular, namely the negative balance of Yuan 3,000,000.00 Renminbi of the current account of Shenzhen PPS Green City Services Limited with Shanghai PPS Sheng Mao Environmental Services Limited”.

Facts admitted by Mr Pang

25.At all material times, PPS International (Holdings)  Limited (“Company”)was a listed company incorporated in Hong Kong.  The Company had subsidiaries in both Hong Kong and the mainland.  The three mainland subsidiaries of the Company involved in the instant case are as follows:-

(a)  Shanghai PPS Sheng Mao Environmental Services Limited (“SC1”);

(b)  Shenzhen Environmental Services Limited (“SC2”); and

(c)  Shenzhen PPS Green City Services Limited (“SC3”).

26.Mr Pang (“D”)  was at first employed as an accounting clerk in a subsidiary of the Company.  He became the senior accounting officer in another subsidiary of the Company in July 2017.  He then became the senior accounting officer of the Company in December 2017.  In March 2018, he was transferred to another subsidiary of the Company.  D’s employment was terminated on 2 February 2021. 

27.At all material times before the termination of D’s employment, he was responsible for reviewing accounting matters and preparing accounting records for different subsidiaries of the Company, including SC1 to SC3.

28.D was entrusted with a digital device, ie a U-key to review and/or approve online transactions of the mainland bank accounts of the Company’s subsidiaries including SC1 to SC3.  However, D was only authorised to control these mainland bank accounts according to the operational needs of the relevant companies and the instructions of the management of those companies.

29.Although SC3 ceased to be a subsidiary of the Company from June 2018, D was still instructed to continue to work for SC3, given the good relationship between the Company and the new members of SC3.

30.An internal audit check in February 2021 revealed that D embezzled funds of a total of RMB5,331,200 from the mainland bank account of SC3 between July 2018 and February 2021.  To conceal the misappropriations, D made unauthorized transfers among the mainland bank accounts of SC1 to SC3.  To further cover up his embezzlements and the unauthorized transfers, D falsified the accounting records for SC1 to SC3 by making false entries in or omitting material particulars from those records.

31.Mr Chan Woon Wing (“PW1”), the company secretary of the Company, identified the following 20 balance sheets prepared by D, which were found with false entries and/or material omissions.  As per PW1, the false entries and/or material omissions could be noted by comparing the balance sheets prepared by D in Hong Kong with those genuine records prepared by the staff of SC1 to SC3 in the mainland.

Balance sheets prepared by D for SC1

32.The particulars of the 6 balance sheets prepared by D in relation to SC1 are set out below.

Charge	Date of the balance sheet	False entries in the balance sheet	Genuine entries in the mainland accounting record
1	July 2020	(a)  the other receivables of SC1 were of a total amount of RMB 4,272; and (b)  the balance of the current account of SC1 with SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 2M.	(a)  the other receivables of SC1 were of a total amount of RMB 1,004,272; and (b)  the balance of the current account of SC1 with SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 200,000.
2	August 2020	(a)  the other receivables of SC1 were of a total amount of RMB 4,272; and (b)  the balance of the current account of SC1 with SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 3M.	(a)  the other receivables of SC1 were of a total amount of RMB 3,004,272; and (b)  the balance of the current account of SC1 with SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 200,000.
3	30 September 2020	(a)  the other receivables of SC1 were of a total amount of RMB 4,272; and (b)  the balance of the current account of SC1 with SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 5M.	(a)  the other receivables of SC1 were of a total amount of RMB 3,004,272; and (b)  the balance of the current account of SC1 with SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 200,000.
4	31 October 2020	(a)  the other receivables of SC1 were of a total amount of RMB 4,272; and (b)  the balance of the current account of SC1 with SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 5M.	(a)  the other receivables of SC1 were of a total amount of RMB 3,004,272; and (b)  the balance of the current account of SC1 with SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 200,000.
5	30 November 2020	(a)  the other receivables of SC1 were of a total amount of RMB 4,272; and (b)  the balance of the current account of SC1 with SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 5M.	(a)  the other receivables of SC1 were of a total amount of RMB 3,004,272; and (b)  the balance of the current account of SC1 with SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 200,000.
6	31 December 2020	(a)  the other receivables of SC1 were of a total amount of RMB 4,272; and (b)  the balance of the current account of SC1 with SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 5M.	(a)  the other receivables of SC1 were of a total amount of RMB 3,004,272; and (b)  the balance of the current account of SC1 with SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 200,000.

Balance sheets prepared by D for SC2

33.The particulars of the 10 balance sheets prepared by D in relation to SC2 are set out below.

Charge	Date of the balance sheet	False entries in the balance sheet	Genuine entries in the mainland accounting record
7	December 2018	(a)  the balance of the current account of SC2 with SC3 was of a total amount of 0; and (b)  the cash at bank and in hand of SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 1,087,311.4.	(a)  the accounts payable to SC3 were of a total amount of RMB 1,391,306.36; and (b)  the bank deposits of SC2 were of a total amount of RMB 1,037,311.4.
8	May 2019	(a)  the balance of the current account of SC2 with SC3 was of a total amount of 0; and (b)  the cash at bank and in hand of SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 2,086,453.17.	(a)  the accounts payable to SC3 were of a total amount of RMB 2,066,597.26; and (b)  the bank deposits of SC2 were of a total amount of RMB 1,334,053.18.
9	October 2019	(a)  the balance of the current account of SC2 with SC3 was of a total amount of 0; and (b)  the cash at bank and in hand of SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 2,547.72.	(a)  the accounts payable to SC3 were of a total amount of RMB 2,598,097.26; and (b)  the bank deposits of SC2 were of a total amount of RMB 2,006.25.
10	March 2020	(a)  the balance of the current account of SC2 with SC3 was of a total amount of 0; and (b)  the cash at bank and in hand of SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 2,051,150.41.	(a)  the accounts payable to SC3 were of a total amount of RMB 3,336,097.26; and (b)  the bank deposits of SC2 were of a total amount of RMB 1,054,483.8.
11	May 2020	(a)  the balance of the current account of SC2 with SC3 was of a total amount of 0; and (b)  the cash at bank and in hand of SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 3,705,706.17.	(a)  the accounts payable to SC3 were of a total amount of RMB 3,436,097.26; and (b)  the bank deposits of SC2 were of a total amount of RMB 1,620,706.26.
12	August 2020	(a)  the balance of the current account of SC2 with SC3 was of a total amount of 0; and (b)  the balance of the current account of SC2 with SC1 was of a total amount of RMB 3M (negative).	(a)  the accounts payable to SC3 were of a total amount of RMB 336,097.26; and (b)  the accounts payable to SC1 were of a total amount of  RMB 2M.
13	September 2020	(a)  the balance of the current account of SC2 with SC3 was of a total amount of 0; (b)  the balance of the current account of SC2 with SC1 was of a total amount of RMB 5M (negative); and (c)  the cash at bank and in hand of SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 6,652,350.14.	(a)  the accounts payable to SC3 were of a total amount of RMB 386,097.26; (b)  the accounts payable to SC1 were of a total amount of RMB 2M; and (c)  the bank deposits of SC2 were of a total amount of RMB 4,602,350.14.
14	October 2020	(a)  the balance of the current account of SC2 with SC3 was of a total amount of 0; (b)  the balance of the current account of SC2 with SC1 was of a total amount of RMB 5M (negative); and (c)  the cash at bank and in hand of SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 6,959,657.1.	(a)  the accounts payable to SC3 were of a total amount of RMB 736,097.26; (b)  the accounts payable to SC1 were of a total amount of RMB 2M; and (c)  the bank deposits of SC2 were of a total amount of RMB 4,599,657.1.
15	November 2020	(a)  the balance of the current account of SC2 with SC3 was of a total amount of 0; (b)  the balance of the current account of SC2 with SC1 was of a total amount of RMB 5M (negative); and (c)  the cash at bank and in hand of SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 6,694,377.06.	(a)  the accounts payable to SC3 were of a total amount of RMB 1,426,097.26; (b)  the accounts payable to SC1 were of a total amount of RMB 2M; and (c)  the bank deposits of SC2 were of a total amount of RMB 3,604,377.06.
16	December 2020	(a)  the balance of the current account of SC2 with SC3 was of a total amount of 0; (b)  the balance of the current account of SC2 with SC1 was of a total amount of RMB 5M (negative); and (c)  the cash at bank and in hand of SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 3,279,864.9.	(a)  the accounts payable to SC3 were of a total amount of RMB 1,613,097.26; (b)  the accounts payable to SC1 were of a total amount of RMB 2M; and (c)  the bank deposits of SC2 were of a total amount of RMB 2,864.9.

Balance sheets prepared by D for SC3

34.The particulars of the 4 balance sheets prepared by D in relation to SC3 are set out below.

Charge	Date of the balance sheet	False entries/ omissions in the balance sheet	Genuine entries in the mainland accounting record
17	June 2019	(a)  the balance of the current account of SC3 with SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 1,341,306.36 (negative); and (b)  the petty cash of SC3 was of a total amount of RMB 25,516.55.	(a)  the balance of the current account of SC3 with SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 2,346,597.26 (negative); and (b)  petty cash of a total amount of RMB 1,030,807.45 was lent to D.
18	December 2019	(a)  the balance of the current account of SC3 with SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 1,341,306.36 (negative); (b)  the petty cash of SC3 was of a total amount of RMB 8,469.25; and (c)  the balance of the current account of SC3 with Shenzhen Ping On Bank account numbered 11014998757003 was of a total amount of RMB 333,814.03.	(a)  the balance of the current account of SC3 with SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 3,086,097.26 (negative); (b)  petty cash of a total amount of RMB 2,053,260.15 was lent to D; and (c)  the balance of the current account of SC3 with Shenzhen Ping On Bank account numbered 11014998757003 was of a total amount of RMB 33,814.03.
19	March 2020	(a)  the balance of the current account of SC3 with SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 1,341,306.36 (negative); (b)  the petty cash of SC3 was of a total amount of RMB 192,722.65; and (c)  the balance of the current account of SC3 with Shenzhen Ping On Bank account numbered 11014998757003 was of a total amount of RMB 423,708.49.	(a)  the balance of the current account of SC3 with SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 3,336,097.26 (negative); (b)  petty cash of a total amount of RMB 2,587,513.55 was lent to D; and (c)  the balance of the current account of SC3 with Shenzhen Ping On Bank account numbered 11014998757003 was of a total amount of RMB 23,708.49.
20	October 2020	(a)  the balance of the current account of SC3 with SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 1,341,306.36 (negative); (b)  the petty cash of SC3 was of a total amount of 0; and (c)  D omitted the negative balance of RMB 3M of the current account of SC3 with SC1.	(a)  the balance of the current account of SC3 with SC2 was of a total amount of RMB 1,736,097.26 (negative); (b)  petty cash of a total amount of RMB 3,384,207.93 was lent to D; and (c)  There was an entry of the negative balance of the current account of SC3 with SC1 of a total amount of RMB 3M.

Arrest and cautioned admissions of D

35.D was arrested on 26 April 2021.  Under caution upon arrest, D admitted stealing the sums from the relevant companies for soccer betting. 

36.In the subsequent cautioned video-recorded interviews dated 26 April and 9 November 2021, D, inter alia, stated:-

(a)  He was provided with the U-key during his employment with the relevant companies and he could use it to review and/or approve the online transactions of the mainland bank accounts of the relevant companies;

(b)  He had transferred about RMB5.5M from the mainland bank account of SC3 to his mainland personal account or those of his friends on numerous occasions. He transferred a total of about RMB500,000 from his personal account back to that of SC3;

(c)  He made unauthorised transfers among SC1 to SC3 to cover up his embezzlements;

(d)  He was responsible for preparing all the accounting records of the Company and its subsidiaries;

(e)  He prepared the accounting record for the previous month on the first few days of each month;

(f)  The mainland subsidiaries prepared accounting records in the mainland format. They then faxed their records to him. He would then convert the accounting records to those in the Hong Kong format;

(g)  He did not need to make substantial adjustments to the figures of the mainland accounting records. He just needed to make minor amendments to the entries of income; and

(h)  He prepared the accounting records with Excel and he would send the accounting records in both the Hong Kong and mainland formats to his supervisor by email.

Criminal record

37.Mr Pang has one previous conviction in 2013 for Conspiracy to defraud for which he was sentenced to 240 hours of community service.

Antecedents

38.Mr Pang is aged 33 (29-31 at the time of the offences), educated to Diploma level.

Mitigation

39.Mr Patrick Szeto of counsel assigned by the Director of Legal Aid mitigated on behalf of Mr Pang. The following is a summary of the mitigation submissions.

40.After Mr Pang obtained a LCCI Certificate in Book-keeping and Accounts, he began to work in early 2008 as an account clerk.  He was under financial pressure to make ends meet at times.  While still working, he obtained a Diploma in Accountancy in 2011.

41.In around May 2015, Mr Pang started working for the group of victim companies as an account clerk.  He earned the trust of his employers and was promoted to the rank of senior account officer at around December 2017 whereby he was given access to the companies’ accounts.  Both his employers and him were happy with each other and Mr Pang expected to work there till retirement.

42.In around 2018, Mr Pang was exposed to football gambling.  Before long, Mr Pang found himself in deficit and was unable to support his only surviving parent ie mother.  He therefore committed the present offences.

43.Initially, Mr Pang thought of misappropriating money only on a few occasions in order to repay his debts.  He hoped to win back but of course he failed.  He fell into the gambling trap from which he could not get out.

44.The subject offences were committed between December 2018 and December 2020 involving a net loss of RMB5,331,200 (equivalent to around HK$5.93M as of today).

45.His crime was discovered by his employers in early February 2021.  When being confronted, Mr Pang promptly made full confessions to his employers and was given time to make good the deficit.

46.Eventually, Mr Pang was able to repay HK$150,000 to his employers.  As Mr Pang had exhausted all resources and could not repay his employers anymore, he surrendered himself to the police on 18 February 2021.  At that time, his employers had not made a report to the police yet.  As a result, when being contacted by the police, his employers said that they were still pondering on what to do.  Mr Pang’s attempt to turn himself in was therefore not successful.  This however showed Mr Pang was always prepared to take full responsibility for what he had done.

47.Mr Pang can only recall that the misappropriations were each in the amount of a few thousand to HK$400,000; and when he was unable to raise sufficient funds at the end of the month to balance the accounts, he would resort to false accounting to cover it up ie the present offences.

48.The court is invited to refer to the case of HKSAR v Cheung Mee Kiu [2006] 4 HKLRD 776 [Judge’s note: as revised by HKSAR v Ng Kwok Wing [2008] 4 HKLRD 1017].  The sum involved in the present case (ie around HK$5.93M)  falls into the second band of the guideline (ie HK$3M to HK$15M: 5 to 10 years). 

49.Mr Pang was cooperative with the police and pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity thus avoiding a lengthy trial and witnesses from the Mainland.  Mr Pang’s otherwise prosperous career has also come to an abrupt stop. 

50.The court is invited to consider the totality principle.  For a sum of around HK$5.93M, a starting point of 74.5 months would seem to be appropriate.  Alternatively, the notional average net loss of each count would be slightly less than HK$300,000 which would be at the fourth band of the guideline (ie HK$250,000 to HK$1M: 2 to 3 years).  Along this line, if the court was to adopt 25 months as the starting point for all counts and impose a 2.5 months’ consecutive sentence of the remaining 19 counts to the 1^st count, the aggregate starting point would be 72.5 months which would be near to the overall criminality for a total net loss of around HK$5.93M. 

51.Mr Szeto submitted three mitigation letters (all in Chinese)  written respectively by Mr Pang himself, his mother, and a friend.  The contents generally are that Mr Pang committed the offences due to gambling addiction; that he apologized to his mother, relatives and friends, and former employers and supervisors; that Mr Pang was the sole bread winner who had to take care of his mother (56)  who is suffering from long-term diseases; that Mr Pang is a kind person with a good heart who is regretful.  All the writers asked for a lenient sentence so Mr Pang may return to society early to turn over a new leaf. 

Sentence

52.The maximum sentence for a false accounting offence is 10 years’ imprisonment ie the same as that for a theft offence.  In this light, I agree it is appropriate to make reference to the sentencing tariff for a breach of trust theft where the gravamen of the offence is embezzlement of an employer’s funds. 

53.Having taken into account a small restitution of HK$150,000 and having considered the totality principle, I adopt a global starting point of 72 months. 

54.Having taken into account the small restitution of HK$150,000, I adopt a starting point of 24 months for each of the 20 charges. 

55.Mr Pang pleaded guilty in good time and he shall be entitled to the full 1/3 discount on all charges.  There are no other mitigating factors of weight to justify any further reduction in sentence. 

(Mr Pang, please stand)

56.For each of the 20 charges, I impose a sentence of 16 months’ imprisonment. 

57.For Charges 2 to 19, I order that 1.75 months of each of the sentences to run consecutively among themselves, and to run consecutively as to the 0.5 month of the sentence on Charge 20, culminating in a string of 32 months of protruding consecutive sentences which I further order to run consecutively to the sentence of 16 months on Charge 1, making a final sentence of 48 months’ imprisonment.