Police arrest 39 over allegedly staging traffic accidents to apply for aid under gov’t assistance scheme
Hong Kong Free Press
Police have arrested 39 people over allegedly staging traffic accidents to fraudulently claim subsidies from a government assistance scheme.
The Social Welfare Department (SWD) said on Friday the 39 were arrested for fraud and conspiracy to defraud. They were suspected of obtaining payments from the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance (TAVA) scheme, which provides funds for people caught in road accidents.
The arrests came after police announced last month that 275 people had been apprehended over the same offence in October and November, with claims totally HK$14 million.
Addressing reporters on Friday, Senior Inspector Lam Tsz-lim said the 39 people arrested from Monday to Thursday had engaged in similar fraudulent means as those apprehended earlier.
They produced fictitious sick leave certificates to the SWD when applying for aid, with the largest application for a sum of HK$150,00. One of the allegedly fictitious accidents involved 13 people, Lam said, adding that the SWD flagged that case to the police and had not disbursed any funds.
Those arrested included 24 men and 15 women aged 19 to 48. Their occupations included clerical workers, salespeople and logistics workers, while some were unemployed.
In total, they attempted to claim a sum of HK$2 million. The applications involved 33 staged traffic accidents.
According to the SWD’s statement, certain conditions must be met in order for applicants of the scheme to be eligible for assistance. The accident must have been reported to the police and determined as a traffic accident, and the victim must have been injured or killed.
In the event of injury, a doctor must certify that the injury required at least three days of hospitalisation with an accompanying sick leave certificate.
Those arrested had wasted “a significant amount of police resources,” Wong Chun-pak, a senior inspector for the West Kowloon region’s traffic unit, said.
Wong added that with every traffic accident, police had to get evidence from the drivers involved and send the vehicles involved for inspections. Officers also often had to seek the the input of experts, such as the Government Laboratory Service’s chemists and the Transport Department’s engineers, as well as legal advice from the Department of Justice.
Wong said the staging of such accidents could have major consequences for the public as they could obstruct traffic conditions. Police may not be able to respond to emergencies if they are occupied with handling fake accidents, he added.
Under the Theft Ordinance, offenders can face up to 14 years in prison, according to the SWD.
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