Hong Kong social worker who launched legal challenge against tech hub plan arrested for alleged fraud – reports
Hong Kong Free Press
A Hong Kong social worker who sought to challenge authorities’ approval of a planned technology hub has been arrested over alleged false statements to authorities for elderly allowance and public housing, according to local media reports.
Eddie Tse told HKFP on Friday afternoon that he had no comment after he was granted bail from a police station.
Multiple media outlets reported on Friday that Tse had been accused of concealing his real income in applications for a public housing unit and old age living allowance, which grants eligible seniors a monthly payment of HK$4,195.
A single person aged 65 or above and earning less than HK$10,710 per month is eligible for the old age living allowance. The income limit for a one-person applicant of a public housing rental unit is capped at HK$12,940 per month.
Tse was arrested on Friday morning and was granted bail at around 4 pm at the Western Divisional Police Station, according to HK01.
Legal challenge
Tse has sought to challenge the conditional approval of a environmental report that gave a green light to the development of the San Tin Technopole. Environmentalists have said the large-scale project will damage ecologically valuable wetlands and impact endangered species in the area.
The legal challenge was held up while authorities processed Tse’s bid for legal aid. A legal representative for the Legal Aid Department told a court on Monday that there had been a “third party” who questioned Tse’s income status, according to The Witness.
The judge overseeing the legal challenge ordered the Legal Aid Department to decide on Tse’s bid by January 10.
See also: What is Hong Kong’s San Tin Technopole and why is the planned tech hub controversial?
The San Tin tech hub will cover 627 hectares of land in Hong Kong’s border with neighbouring Shenzhen. Authorities have said the plan will provide around 160,000 jobs and 50,000 homes.
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