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Deaf-mute, porn-dealer dole cheat out of jail - The Standard
An elderly deaf-mute porn hawker jailed after scamming more than HK$335,000 in dole over 24 years has been freed by an appeal court on humanitarian grounds.
Leung Chung-kee, 76, is a senior citizen who is in poor health, Deputy High Court Judge Esther Toh Lye-ping said yesterday.
But she stressed that Tsuen Wan magistrate Lambert Lee Ka- chai did not err last August when he sentenced Leung to 16 months in prison. She said Leung had to be punished with a heavy jail term for his dishonesty over a long period and for selling pornography.
Leung, who is supporting a family as well as three girlfriends, walked free after spending six months in jail, but he must now start to repay the money he scammed from the Social Welfare Department.
That means he cannot collect the non-means-tested disabled allowance of HK$1,280 a month for the next 22 years.
The court heard earlier that Leung, while on the dole, had been selling secondhand obscene magazines and video tapes from a stall on Kwelin Street, Sham Shui Po. He also sublet half of the stall to other hawkers for HK$6,000 a month from 2008 to 2009.
But Leung falsely claimed to have had no income when he applied for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance from 1985 to 2009.
Over the years, social welfare officials were kept in the dark about his financial status, although they had on 30 occasions attempted to verify his eligibility for assistance, including regular interviews and home visits.
Claiming to be a sole breadwinner, Leung had said that the welfare cash he received was used to support his three girlfriends, a divorced wife, his wife in her 60s and a stepson.
The department became aware of his cheating following an anonymous complaint in November 2008. Checks made on Leung's bank account showed he had received various sums of money each month other than his CSSA payments.
He was arrested for fraud in July last year, eight months after he stopped claiming social welfare benefits.
According to government figures, fewer than 1 percent of the 280,000 CSSA recipients have been found to be cheats in recent years.
An elderly deaf-mute porn hawker jailed after scamming more than HK$335,000 in dole over 24 years has been freed by an appeal court on humanitarian grounds.
Leung Chung-kee, 76, is a senior citizen who is in poor health, Deputy High Court Judge Esther Toh Lye-ping said yesterday.
But she stressed that Tsuen Wan magistrate Lambert Lee Ka- chai did not err last August when he sentenced Leung to 16 months in prison. She said Leung had to be punished with a heavy jail term for his dishonesty over a long period and for selling pornography.
Leung, who is supporting a family as well as three girlfriends, walked free after spending six months in jail, but he must now start to repay the money he scammed from the Social Welfare Department.
That means he cannot collect the non-means-tested disabled allowance of HK$1,280 a month for the next 22 years.
The court heard earlier that Leung, while on the dole, had been selling secondhand obscene magazines and video tapes from a stall on Kwelin Street, Sham Shui Po. He also sublet half of the stall to other hawkers for HK$6,000 a month from 2008 to 2009.
But Leung falsely claimed to have had no income when he applied for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance from 1985 to 2009.
Over the years, social welfare officials were kept in the dark about his financial status, although they had on 30 occasions attempted to verify his eligibility for assistance, including regular interviews and home visits.
Claiming to be a sole breadwinner, Leung had said that the welfare cash he received was used to support his three girlfriends, a divorced wife, his wife in her 60s and a stepson.
The department became aware of his cheating following an anonymous complaint in November 2008. Checks made on Leung's bank account showed he had received various sums of money each month other than his CSSA payments.
He was arrested for fraud in July last year, eight months after he stopped claiming social welfare benefits.
According to government figures, fewer than 1 percent of the 280,000 CSSA recipients have been found to be cheats in recent years.